


Legally Blond

by wondergirlinwonderland



Series: Legally Blond [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Inspired by a Movie, Law School, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-07-21 15:51:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 43,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7393717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wondergirlinwonderland/pseuds/wondergirlinwonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When his boyfriend dumps him, Joey sets out to prove he's more than good enough. Will getting into the same law school and working his hardest still not be good enough for Duke? What's with his new girlfriend? What's going on in that aloof teaching assistant's mind and why does he intrigue Joey so much?</p><p>Eventual Puppyshipping & past Snareshipping<br/>Sideships: Puzzleshipping, Ardentshipping, Persevereshipping<br/>Inspired by the movie/musical Legally Blonde</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why I was inspired by this, I'm not entirely sure, but I was so here is my start. This is probably going to be a mix of the movie and musical and I've tried to make it my own so it won't be too boring. Also, I'm not sure how much attention I'll be giving the sidepairings or if all of them will be endgame (2 of them are set to, just not sure about the third) and I'm officially rambling so I hope you enjoy this.

**Joey's POV** :

The sky was cloudy when I got out of class. It was almost dark, I took mostly all night classes and this was the one day a week that I got out while it was still light outside. I liked night classes better than early ones, partly because I was tired in the morning and that made it even tougher to focus when I was sitting for extended periods of time and partly because I had two jobs to keep up with. The first was a paper route I'd had since I was young, that I was surprised I'd been kept on for and I think it was just that my boss felt bad for me, and the other was as a waiter.

If you ever want to lose all hope for humanity and hate the world, go into the service industry. Some people really did think that waiters, waitresses, busboys, and the like were all well beneath them. Of course, not everyone was like that, and we had some really good regulars in my diner. I knew I could have worse jobs in this world, and I was honestly grateful.

I shifted my bag on my shoulder, looking up at the sky and hoping I would make it home before the rain started. I really didn't feel like spending the extra money to take public transportation, and I'd been in a rush this morning and didn't check the weather and know to grab an umbrella. Typical me, I guess. Thinking things through wasn't always my strong point.

I walked by an electronics store, the only one anyone in this neighborhood could afford anything from (and that's only because they usually had outdated merchandise. I'm pretty sure the newer stuff had 'fallen off a truck' if you know what I mean) and smiled softly at the commercial playing on the television. It was for Valentine Cosmetics with the founder and face of the company modeling and talking about her stuff, though I couldn't hear the words. I smiled softly at the beautiful blonde holding up the bottle of anti-aging cream and chuckled fondly.

Mai Valentine was, believe it or not, from Domino as well. In fact, she used to babysit me and my sister, Serenity, back when we were kids. I remember my mom hiring her when she was at work and my dad was 'out' (sometimes that meant work, other times it meant a bar or something) and we'd always had a lot of fun with her. She taught us about the card game Duel Monsters, which became a favorite pastime of mine, and helped teach Serenity things about makeup that I never understood. She became a big sister to us, and stuck around even after Mom died and Dad never really had spare money to pay her.

The sense of pride that filled up in me every time I saw one of her commercials was overwhelming. We hadn't talked to Mai in a few years, since she went off to college to learn chemistry and then to cosmetology school (though we did get a condolence card with some money to help us with expenses when my Dad passed away last year), but when Valentine Cosmetics started popping up, we knew why she was too busy to talk to us. Besides, we were just happy she made it out. Domino wasn't really the best place to grow up, but most kids didn't really move on up in the world. Most ended up stuck in the low rate life they'd grown up in. I never wanted that for my sister or myself.

There were three big ways people got out of Domino. The first was dying which, yeah, no, not doing that. I had a lot to live for. Broke or not, I had my sister and my friends, and a really cool boyfriend. The second was doing what Mai did – get good grades and snag entry and hopefully a scholarship to a good school, and if you could make it big or at least big enough to live in a decent or good city, you were set. The third, which a lot of girls I went to high school with did, was get married to someone not from here. I don't know if the reason this happened more for the girls I knew was because straight guys are stupidly proud and wouldn't let a woman take care of them or just because rich guys are more likely to buy into this idea of needing to save a poor girl than a rich girl would for a guy, but. I digress.

I shook my head as I noticed the commercial changed and was no longer displaying my former babysitter and once-friend, deciding to go on my way. I needed to get home, get to Serenity. I was lucky when my dad died, we were at the age that we were allowed to take care of ourselves, because she and I didn't have any other family and if she'd still been underage, I don't know if I would have gotten to take custody of her. Nearly three years later, though, we're making it work, and I'm decently happy with where I am in life.

I started picking up speed as I felt the first drop on my head from the rain, tightening my hold on my bag so it didn't fall down my arm. I knew myself, if I could just start sprinting I could make it, the apartment wasn't far. As predicted, I was putting my key into the building's lock right as the downpour really started, whooping in victory as I shut the door behind me.

I walked up to the third floor, smiling at the kids playing in the hallway. They were brothers who lived next door, and the older one was teaching the younger how to play Duel Monsters. I couldn't help but miss Mai as I began opening the door to my apartment and heard a small glimpse of the conversation. "Wait, Syrus, remember the special ability of your card, you could have destroyed mine." "Sorry, Zane…"

"Big brother!" Speaking of siblings, as soon as I opened the door, I heard my sister's cheerful voice. I smiled and shut the door behind me, going over to the small table we had. I put my keys in my bag and draped it over a chair before hugging her from behind.

"Hey, sis. Whatcha doing?"

"Homework for my literature class. After that, I'm finished and I'll start dinner. Tris just got back a few minutes before you, he's in the shower now."

I gave her a kiss on the top of her head and nodded. Living with my little sister and best friend was a little weird sometimes, mostly after they started to date. Before that, Tristan and I actually shared one room of the apartment, giving Serenity her own bedroom, and I vividly remember my reaction when they decided to move him into hers. Though, to be fair, me having my own room was pretty cool and helpful when I had my boyfriend over, but it took me a while to be okay with him and her sharing as well. I was wrong, because basically nothing changed, except now I have more space, and if they're doing anything inappropriate, you could never tell. But I hoped they weren't anyway. At least not when I was in the next room.

Tristan and I had been friends for as long as I could remember, he was basically my brother. Honestly, he's probably the only guy I could imagine trusting not to break my sister's heart, he was just so _good_. Not to mention, he had dreams and goals, to some day own his own auto garage. Right now, he was running his brother-in-law's, which was just outside of Domino, and one day he hoped he'd be able to buy it. His brother in law had more than one, the other being closer to where he lived with Tristan's sister and their son, so he left Tris in charge of this one. The one complaint I had as his roommate was that he almost always came home dirty, hence the showers basically as soon as he walked through the door.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and dug into my bag. I pulled out one of my books and sat down to start my homework and a few moments later, Tristan came back out, fully dressed and oil free. "Hey, man, didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah, you were already in the shower when I did," I answered.

Serenity closed up her stuff and stood up, putting her books away. Tristan chose to lean against the counter. When she made her way into the kitchen, she poked his stomach and giggled. "Move over, Tris, it's my turn for dinner and I can't cook if you're blocking the food."

He smiled at her and scooted over, opening the cabinet next to him and getting out the measuring cup on the top shelf. I never understood why we kept putting it back where she couldn't reach. He kissed her softly before moving to take the seat she'd gotten out of.

I could tell he wanted to talk but was holding back due to me actually doing some of my homework. After miraculously getting my slacker ass through high school and college entrance exams, I told myself going on to higher education, I wouldn't screw around, and I was glad he was respecting that. However, that look he was giving as he seemed to be waiting for me to take a break was pretty distracting, so I looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. "Spit it out, I'm not going to be able to get this done while you're watching me anyway."

He rolled his eyes and shrugged. "It's no big deal, I guess. I just wanted to say I saw Duke today."

My eyebrows crinkled slightly. My boyfriend and best friend didn't exactly get along despite my best efforts. I knew that and I was never sure why, and Tristan always just said he rubbed him the wrong way. "Where? Did he come into the shop? Was something wrong with the convertible?"

"No, he didn't come in. I went out to lunch with my sister, actually. It was this nice place close to her job, she insisted. Anyway, he was there with what I assume was his grandmother. Or maybe his birth mom, I don't know, his dad's kind of old, right?"

I nodded slightly. I hadn't actually met Duke's mom, he didn't even like to talk about her, but I'd been briefly introduced to his dad and stepmom. They weren't exactly the nicest people, not outwardly snobby, but they knew just how to talk to you to make you feel inferior. I'd told Tristan about that one interaction and he had been a little furious that Duke hadn't butted in and stuck up for me, so I'd kind of lied and said they were nicer the next time we met. There hadn't actually been a next time.

"You two didn't do anything stupid, right?" I asked cautiously. I knew they were both more levelheaded than I was, but I wouldn't put it past them to end up in a fight, or at the very least, a snarky argument, in a nice place.

"I didn't, I promise. I was very courteous, if I do say so myself. Waved and said hello as I walked by his table, that's it. Felt kind of rude to not introduce Gemma, but at least I didn't fight."

"I'm proud of you, Tristan," Serenity said from the counter where she was measuring out ingredients. I hadn't realized she'd even been listening.

"Yeah, me too, buddy. Thanks for that." I was about to go back to my homework, wondering whether or not I should ask Duke about his lunch later when I called him, but as I turned away, I noticed Tristan still seemed like he had something to say. "I get the feeling this story isn't over, so what else did you wanna tell me?"

He bit his lip, looking from me to Serenity and back again before he sighed. "He seemed pretty shady, honestly." There it was. I loved Tristan to death, but I didn't know how much more of this I could take. "No, wait, listen okay? The woman was giving him something and when he noticed I saw him there, he hid it and got all sketchy. I can't explain it but I think something's up with him, and it's not just me being protective this time."

I closed my eyes and thought for a minute. "Tristan, I know your heart is in the right place, but what could his grandmother have been giving him that he didn't want you to see that means he's hiding something? Maybe it was just some family heirloom thing and it felt weird knowing someone was watching him with it."

Tristan just shrugged and let it go, pulling out his phone and playing a game. I went back to my homework, not giving anymore thought to Tristan's suspicions of Duke's family lunch until Serenity piped up as she was mixing something.

"What if she was giving him a family ring?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here we go. I don't know how slow this fic is going to burn or not, I'm just writing it as I go. I know this is long and that's why I stopped it where I did, I felt like I was going overboard. Anyway, I gave a special nod to non-DM characters so I hope you appreciate that, and other than them, the other characters I named in here are important (other than Tristan's sister, whose name I totally made up here), and of course, that's not even all of them. Next chapter will be about Duke and Joey and I want to bring in Ryou because in my plotting this out, I had him as Tristan and Joey's other closest friend from Domino. Anyway, I don't mind if you don't leave a comment but I'd love it if you guys leave kudos or bookmark if you don't just so I know how it's being received. Thank you! -Wondergirl.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the wait on this one. I had a very impromptu vacation, literally planned out the night before we left, and I came back Tuesday and the last three days were spent helping my brother move into his new place. Tomorrow might be doing more of the same and cleaning my own house so I don't know when I'll have extra time to sit down and write. This chapter wasn't supposed to be a standalone chapter, it had originally been the first half of Chapter 2 combined with what I'm now making Chapter 3, but I felt really bad for leaving you all high and dry. I appreciate the comments and kudos so much, though, and I hope you all stick on through.

**Joey's POV:**

For days, I was practically haunted with the idea of getting engaged. Once Serenity had come up with the idea, she hadn’t shaken it. It didn’t help that Tristan had blatantly spat out, “You wouldn’t say yes, would you?” at the idea of Duke asking me to marry him.

I honestly hadn’t thought about marriage yet. I was barely in my twenties and still had some time left before finishing up school. Yes, I loved Duke, and he was probably the most perfect guy I could have ever dreamed up, but there were some other things that made me wary of marriage.

Duke came from old money. Not just old, but snobby money. We met when he and some of his friends came into the diner and I certainly thought he was out of my league until my coworker insisted he was flirting with me. I boldly slipped him my number in with the check and I didn’t think he’d actually call, and after that first date I didn’t think he’d actually want to stick around with me either. He did both, and I think we’re pretty happy after the two and a half years we’d been together.

Two and a half years. It seemed pretty short, but maybe if he was ready, there was no reason I shouldn’t be, right? But still, the money thing was a big factor looming over us. I didn’t like to let it, but it was always there. Always there when he absolutely insisted on going places where I couldn’t even afford to go Dutch, never mind treat him. How he always grabbed the check and put his credit card in before I could even look. How he always seemed to make a comment about if we lived together, we’d be living somewhere nicer than Domino.

But that was just it. I’ve mentioned before that some people chose to move on up in the world by marrying richer, and I had made the decision never to be that person. I worked two jobs and put away money for the future, whatever I didn’t need to put towards my share of the living expenses and everything for school, and I worked hard to get good grades, even in the classes that you didn’t need to even attend in my college.

Still, I had a feeling that some people, Duke’s family included, would look at me and see just a lowlife street rat clinging on to a sugar daddy or something. I didn’t want to care what anyone thought, if I knew the truth and so did Duke, but I couldn’t help it. I’m only human, after all.

“Hello? Earth to Joey?” A soft, accented voice snapped me out of the daze I hadn’t realized I’d fallen into. I blinked my eyes and turned to see the amused face of my coworker and friend, Ryou Bakura.

“Huh?” I said stupidly.

Ryou giggled and shook his head. “Are you back to daydreaming about your wedding?” he joked. He’d been the one other person besides Serenity and Tristan I’d told any of this to. He and I had been working in the diner together from the start, and we became easy friends. He was a little shy but he was probably the kindest person I’d ever met besides my sister. Actually, he reminded me a lot of my sister, which I think is why I was usually pretty protective over him.

“I was not daydreaming,” I insisted, giving a small huff. “What did you need?”

“The cook finished the order for table six. Figured you should go give it to them, seeing as they’re your table and all,” he answered with a smile. I was pretty sure if anyone else said those words, they’d come off rude, but I don’t think Ryou had a rude bone in his body.

I gave him a sheepish smile and thanked him, grabbing the plates and balancing them. I passed Ryou filling up some coffee cups as I made my way to the table, giving each dish to the proper family member. “Enjoy, guys. Would you like any refills on drinks?” They declined and I went back behind the counter, sighing softly once I was out of earshot of the customers.

“Speaking of marriage,” I heard Ryou mumble, looking up at the television we had in the corner. We usually had the news on or a sports game, sometimes game shows, it usually depended on if the customers requested something. Otherwise, we’d just leave it on a default channel.

I followed his gaze and my eyes almost bulged out of my head. On the screen was Mai, arms wrapped around none other than my favorite action hero, Jean-Claude Magnum. She looked ecstatic and he looked like he’d won every lottery in existence. The headline mentioned an elopement, and as she waved to the crowd in the clip they showed, you could see the ring on her finger.

“Holy hell,” I mumbled softly. “Good for her.” If she was happy, then I was happy for her. It just still wasn’t wrapping around my brain that my former babysitter had married a movie star.

“See, Joey? No one cares that she came from nothing, she made a name for herself and now she’s free to marry whoever she wants. You shouldn’t worry about what other people think, if Duke asks you to marry him and you want to say yes, go for it. Those who matter will be supportive no matter what.”

I smiled softly at the gentle encouragement from Ryou, and as I felt his hand squeeze my shoulder, I lifted my hand and squeezed back. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *wipes forehead* Whew. I know this part was a lot shorter than Chapter 1, but like I said, I hadn't planned on making it its own chapter before I disappeared. It's more set up, with Mai revisited, the start of Duke/Joey (I might write a flashback or two throughout the fic, or maybe as one-shots to go along with it), and the Ryou I promised. Sweet baby whose friendship with Joey seems to be rare in fics but I think deserves more attention. I'm trying to write Chapter 3 now, and I promise, that's the one with a Snareshipping date. Possibly a short cameo by Yami Bakura, but no promises. Oh, and if anyone's wondering, I finally finished The Final Duel. I cried. Not ashamed to admit it. I'll go reply to all your lovely comments now :*


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever stayed up multiple nights in a row until 3 AM just to write a fanfiction? Have you ever been so tired that you misspell neighborhood as ‘neightborrhod’? I have, the former being the last three nights. Or was it four? Oh well, whichever. For the record, I am very bad at describing dates. This one’s got seriously long because I began writing and things just happened. As a result, this is mushier at parts than I meant it to be but hopefully still IC enough for your liking. I didn’t bring in Yami Bakura as I mentioned in the last AN, but I did mention him in here, so without further ado, here is chapter 3.

**Joey's POV:**

It was the next night when I had my date with Duke. We hadn’t had a chance to see each other during the last few days because of our schedules, but we’d talked every chance we could. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary on his part, so I did my best to not let it come across that way on mine. I hadn’t even brought up that Tristan had mentioned the run in at lunch.

I had, however, been told by both my sister and Ryou that I should look ‘ _better than usual_ ’ for the date, just in case it ended up being the night he popped the question. I tried not to get insulted over their choice of words.

Ryou came over after his shift with some nice button-downs that he absolutely insisted had not been stolen by his brother (I didn’t believe him, the kid was a terrible liar and I knew his brother decently enough to know he had a strong case of sticky-fingers.) They ushered me into the bathroom, handing me a red shirt and black slacks. I took my time changing, not really in the mood to do a fashion show in my living room. I slipped my arms through the sleeves and looked in the mirror, turning on the faucet and splashing my face with water.

“Hurry up!” I heard my sister yell through the door as I was drying my face. I held back a groan, didn’t they understand that this was just causing me more stress over this night? This might have not even been the night he proposed, for heaven’s sake! I shook my head, moving to button up the shirt as quickly as I could before I stepped out into the living room.

“You look dashing, Joey,” Ryou said with a large smile.

“I _look_ like I’ve raided Duke’s closet,” I retorted, shaking my head again. I went into Tristan’s and Serenity’s room, because they had a full-size mirror and I didn’t, and checked myself out. I had to admit, though, I really didn’t look bad. They’d insisted red was my color and they might have been right.

“But that you look better in his clothes than he does,” Serenity added on with a giggle. I couldn’t help but smile at that.

I took a deep breath and turned around, a little surprised that both she and Ryou had apparently followed me in. You’d think I’d have seen them, seeing as I’d been looking in a mirror, but apparently I’m oblivious after all.

“Okay, you’re right. I look better than I usually do. Thank you guys, and Ryou, thank your brother for me.”

The Brit’s cheeks flushed a little red and he scratched the back of his head. “Well, actually, he doesn’t exactly know I took them.”

Tristan, who until then had been quiet through this whole ordeal, laughed from the living room. “You managed to steal from him without noticing? What happened to honor among thieves?” he joked, coming up and putting Ryou in a bit of a headlock.

Ryou, however, didn’t get to answer because the doorbell rang. Serenity gave a small squeal and ran over to the buzzer. I suddenly freaked out, running from the bedroom into my own, looking for a pair of shoes to go with the outfit.

A minute later, Tristan entered the room, shutting the door and sitting on my bed. The bed in which I was currently halfway under, searching for shoes.

“Dude, not cool,” I complained, pulling myself out from the bed to glare at him. To my surprise, he sat there looking serious with a pair of black dress boots.

“You keep looking down there and you’ll wrinkle that shirt. They’re not the nicest but…” He trailed off with a shrug and I gave him a quick, tight hug.

“They’re perfect, thank you.” I sat on the bed and slipped them on. Tristan and I were the same size but had never shared shoes before, we never really had a reason. I ran to my mirror, suddenly self-conscious about my hair. I never was, but something about this outfit made it look extra messy. Or maybe that was because I’d just been under my bed. “They’re probably talking Duke’s ear off out there, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, they are.” I looked at Tristan in the mirror, noticing that look on his face again, the one that said he was holding something back.

I abandoned my hair, going to sit back on the bed next to him. “You haven’t really said nothing about this, you know.”

Tristan shrugged, looking off at the wall. “I don’t know what you expect, I’m not gonna gush about weddings like Ryou or Serenity do.”

I exasperatedly threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t want you to _gush_ , Tris, I know you’re not that guy, and you wouldn’t be even if you did like Duke, but that’s just it. I know you don’t, and you didn’t exactly give the best reaction when Serenity brought up her theory. Now, it may very well be happening and you’re giving me shoes but you’re still not _saying_ anything. If this happens, if this really happens and isn’t some daydream I’m cooking up in my mind in the middle of a boring mathematics class, I don’t want to say yes knowing my best friend is going to disapprove. If I get married, I need my best man to actually support it.”

He looked at me in surprise, and to be honest, I was pretty surprised myself. I hadn’t expected all of that to come out, but it did, and now it hung in the air between us like a fog. “Wow,” he finally spoke, shaking his head. He looked away again, sighing. “I didn’t realize you were that serious about it, that ready… I don’t want to ruin this for you, Joey.” He looked back at me, his eyes meeting mine. “You want to say yes tonight?”

“Yes,” I admitted, without even thinking about it. There I go, shocking myself again.

“Then say yes.” He gave me a small smile, reaching his arm around me. I had a feeling he wanted to put me in a headlock as he’d done to Ryou, but was holding back so I didn’t look like a slob. “If it’ll make you happy, then honestly, I want you to go for it.”

I smiled a wide grin, reaching around him to squeeze him into a hug. It was a little odd, given our positions, but we made it work. We broke apart at an amused chuckle and I looked up to see Duke standing in my now open doorway, leaning against the frame.

“Trying to steal him away, Taylor? Don’t you have your own Wheeler to date?” he joked with a chuckle. Serenity and Ryou peeked in quietly. “I really hate to interrupt the friendship moment, but we do have a reservation to get to.”

I let go of Tristan, who I could tell was biting back a retort towards my boyfriend. “I’ll be right there,” I told him, which seemed to satisfy him enough to step out of the room. I quickly gave Tristan another squeeze, whispering a, “Thank you,” for just him to hear.

After I let go of him, I was pulled into hugs with both Ryou and Serenity, each of whom whispered their own little good-luck wishes in my ear.

Duke was waiting for me in the living room, twirling his keys around his finger. “Ready to go?” he asked when I walked out. I nodded and gave him a quick peck, since I hadn’t actually greeted him yet, and grabbed my keys. I opened the door to usher us out of the apartment and then the building.

I was always surprised when Duke felt so comfortable leaving his car unattended in my neighborhood. Maybe it was because he was never really here for long, but I still thought he should have been more careful. He unlocked the door with a button on his key and we got into our respective seats.

“You look really good, by the way,” he said after I’d strapped in. He leaned over to give me a longer kiss than we had before, and before I knew it, I’d closed my eyes. I went to go wrap my arms around his neck but then he pulled away. I opened my eyes and noticed the roof was back down on the convertible and he was starting to pull away from the spot.

“Uh, thank you,” I replied, remembering a little awkwardly the compliment he gave before the kiss.

“You’re welcome. I haven’t seen that outfit before. New?”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” I said with a shrug. He didn’t need to know the outfit itself was probably on a list of items robbed from a nice store. “Except the shoes, they’re actually Tristan’s.”

“They look better on you.”

I laughed, going into a comfortable routine with Duke, all thoughts of stress and worry over this dinner lost. “I doubt you’ve ever even seen him in these. Or even noticed them on me for that matter.”

“Doesn’t matter, I just know you look better in anything than he does.”

“Smooth, Devlin. I bet you say that to all the blonds.” He didn’t answer, just focused on the road, and I slowly moved my hand to hold his. He accepted, but the hold he had on mine seemed looser than usual.

When we got to the restaurant, I was suddenly glad Ryou and Serenity had insisted on dressing me up. I wasn’t usually one to look sloppy on dates, anyway, but this place seemed even nicer than anywhere we’d gone before. Even the valets looked a little intimidating. ‘ _Maybe this is it after all_ ,’ the little voice in my head spoke up. ‘ _Hope you’re ready for this, Joey._ ’

Duke got his stuff from the valet and walked us inside. He gave our name to the hostess and we waited for our reservation to be ready. I looked him over and noticed his fingers were twitching a bit. “Are you alright?”

He looked back at me, a little distracted. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” He smiled and I swear, I melt every time, and took my hand. I didn’t get a chance to push the issue, because the hostess came back and brought us to our table, one close to the windows overlooking the water.

The dinner itself was pretty uneventful, and seemed just like most of our other dates. We talked and joked around a bit, and he insisted I didn’t look at the prices of food and just ordered what I wanted. I told him about Mai and Jean-Claude Magnum, which he admitted he’d heard about and didn’t remember me ever telling him I used to be friends with her. All in all, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and I once again forgot that this was possibly an important night.

That is, until we got to dessert, and instead of eating his, Duke was wringing his hands. “Duke?” I asked quietly, raising an eyebrow. “Hey, are you sure you’re alright?”

He looked up from his plate and at me, still looking nervous. “I’m alright, I swear, I just.” He paused for a moment and then continued, a lot more confident. “I want to have a serious talk with you, Joey, if that’s okay with you.”

My heart leapt into my throat. _Here it is_. “That’s completely okay. Go right ahead.”

He gave me a soft smile, green eyes darting down to my hand. He reached over and I met him halfway, giving his own a small squeeze when it met mine. “Joey, as you know, we’ve been together a while now, and we’re not exactly kids anymore…” I did my best to not look expectant as I nodded for him to go on. “I think it’s time we start thinking about the future.”

“I think I see where this is going, and I agree, one hundred percent.”

“You do?” He let out a small breath and smiled. “That’s such a relief. Because I love and care about you so much, and we’ve had such a good time together, and I just. I’m glad we both know it’s time to move on and end this now.”

I blinked dumbly for a few seconds, tilting my head as my smile dropped. “Heh?” My ears were ringing; I couldn’t have just heard what I thought I did. “Did you just – _are you breaking up with me?_ ”

It was Duke’s turn to look dumbstruck. “Uh, yeah. Didn’t you just, you said you saw where this was going and agreed.” He looked confused, as if he had any right to be confused right now.

“I thought this was going in the complete opposite direction!” I protested.

It took him about half a minute to realize what I meant, and then his eyes became wide as saucers. “Oh, damn, you thought I was going to…” He shook his head and sighed. “Jojo, I couldn’t, I love you but I just can’t marry you. I need to have a plan and I just don’t think you’d fit. We’re just not right for each other.”

I pulled my hand back from his, very nearly knocking my glass over but just barely missing. “And you couldn’t have come up with this conclusion within the last _two and a half years_?”

He had the sense to at least look guilty at that. “Well, I was – we were having fun. We never really talked about the future but now I’ve started thinking about it. This wouldn’t work in the long run. I’m going off to law school soon and you’re still figuring everything out. I don’t want to have to take you from Serenity and your friends if my job takes me far from here, you’re better than that, better than following some guy.”

I was trying to listen, but my mind couldn’t help but jump to every other conclusion other than the one he was giving, that this would be for my benefit. “I think you’d need to actually _get_ a job before you start deciding where you’re moving for it.” Until then, he’d be living off his parents as he finished school, I knew that, so clearly that wouldn’t be the big issue. “And you’re going to the University of Tokyo!” A few other diners looked at us and I bit my lip, I hadn’t meant to get loud. “Duke. This makes no sense. There’s something you’re not telling me. There’s gotta be.”

“No, there isn’t, I swear.”

“God, if you’re gonna dump me, you could at least be honest about it.” He looked at his hands and sighed. “Because either you’re just really shit at making excuses and you’re just sick of me or there’s something more. What, is there someone else?” I saw something flicker in Duke’s face at that. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He looked up at me again. “You have to understand; I didn’t mean for this to happen. We just ran into each other at a family party, our parents were always friends. We used to date but that was a long time ago, I didn’t expect the feelings to come back, it was so sudden. But that’s not what this is about, Joey, I swear, it’s just that I need to get more serious about my life.”

“So there was a family party that I knew nothing about and _you never let me come to_ , and your parents happened to bring your ex along, and now suddenly I’m not serious enough to be permanent? What was I, then, just you slumming it?” I glared at him, my hands smacking down at the table. I noticed a few people look over again from my peripheral vision.

“Jojo, you’re making a scene.” His sentence sounded more like a plea, the unspoken ‘ _please, stop and calm down,_ ’ hanging in the air.

My eyes widened as I looked around in realization. “Is that what this place is all about? Pulling out the extra stops at an upscale restaurant so that when you break it off, I won’t make a scene?” He didn’t answer, but he did glance away, and I took that as my confirmation. “Well, you’re an idiot then, because in case it hasn’t come to your attention, this isn’t really a place I would frequent.” My voice was getting loud again, but this time, I didn’t bother to lower it. “And I’m never going to see any of these people again, so frankly, I really don’t give a crap about what they think of me. If I want to make a scene, you’re the only one who’s gonna be embarrassed.”

As if on cue, a waiter was making his way by to deliver two cups of plum wine. Perfect. I stood up and grabbed them off the tray, throwing the drinks in Duke’s face. It gave me an immature sense of satisfaction to see the dark liquid dripping down from his hair and face onto his white shirt, not to mention start smudging that damn eyeliner he always wore.

I gave him a smug smirk as he looked at me in disbelief. I then turned to the waiter, who also looked shocked to the core. “I’m so sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me. He’ll pay for it, though, I’m sure. Have a good night.”

With that, I quickly felt my pockets to make sure my house keys were still in there and did my best strut out of the restaurant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that was actually painful to write. I don’t think I’ve ever written an actual breakup scene before. The “Jojo” nickname thing, by the way, is my version of how Warner called Elle “Pooh Bear” but a lot less cheesy. I think. I don’t know. Anyway, I haven’t started chapter 4 yet so please be a teensy bit patient. I did, however, start a scene that’s going a little further in the story (if things go the way I’m planning out, chapter 6? Maybe 7?) so that’s that. I figure when these tidbits come to me, I should write them, then fill in the rest. Some is just easier than others. Also, fun fact: My three puppyshipping things I’ve written are my most popular stories in terms of both hits and kudos. Currently, this is 3rd behind Jetpack and Don’t You Go is 1st, but I’m sure in due time this will become number 1. It’s only 6 hits lower than Jetpack.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, this fic is the longest thing I’ve ever written. That being said, this chapter took forever because I’ve been very busy. My best friend recently got a job close to my house so it’s been a lot easier to see each other and I’ve been having some sibling days as well, which are really nice. I was also stuck on this at one part which is why I switched POVs and honestly, that helped the words flow very nicely. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update. I apologize for the wait.

**Joey's POV:**

"Get in the car."

"No."

"Joey, come on, get in the car."

Despite my head start in leaving the restaurant and Duke having to not only settle the check but also get his car from the valet, he had very easily caught up to me once he was driving and I was still walking. The car was slowly crawling beside me as I walked, and a few people on the sidewalks were giving us strange looks.

"No, I don't want to."

"You'd rather walk the whole way back to Domino?"

"Yes."

"That's ridiculous. There's no reason I shouldn't drop you off back home."

"Well, you did just dump me, so that's a pretty solid reason."

"Or it's a reason for me to do this one last time. Come on, Jojo, you didn't even give me a chance to explain."

I stopped, turning to him angrily. "I'm sorry, am I supposed to be all patient and docile, waiting for you to finish explaining why we shouldn't be together? You must be out of your mind."

"Maybe, but I did get you to stop walking and look at me," he answered with a small shrug. I hated how even when I was thinking about how much I wanted to hit him, my mind couldn't stop also thinking about how damn good looking he was. Smudged eyes and wine stains on his shirt and all.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. No, I wasn't doing this. I wasn't playing into his game this time. I went back to walking, determined to ignore him completely. I just barely heard him curse when suddenly the car was following me again.

"You know, you look like a creep or something," I muttered to him, noticing as another concerned (or possibly just nosy) pedestrian watched us.

"And you look like a target. By the time you get to your own house, you'll be wiped out. I can't let you get hurt."

I knew the sarcastic retort in my head would sound way too petty out loud, so I held it back through clenched teeth. He was silent as well for a few moments, until,

"You really want to ruin Tristan's shoes because you're too stubborn to accept a ride home?"

That did it. I stopped walking and took a deep breath. He had a point, these weren't my shoes and I didn't want to return them all worn in or scuffed or whatever would end up happening between here and home. It wouldn't be fair to Tristan, especially after not believing him about Duke when he was right all along.

"Fine. But shut it." I knew I couldn't exactly give him demands in his own car, but I could at least let him know I wasn't doing this for him. I walked over to the passenger side and got in, buckling the seatbelt and resting my arm on the open window. He drove off, at a normal speed now, and my hair whipped around my face.

To his credit, Duke didn't try to make small talk through the ride. When we were closer to the house, I started to feel the pang in my chest. The fact that this was probably the last time I was going to see him started to really sink in for the first time that night; before, the only thing I felt was anger. Now the sadness was hitting me and I didn't want to admit it out loud, but it hurt.

He didn't say anything as he double parked the car in front of my building, and I quietly undid my seatbelt. I looked over at him once again, debating saying something or not, but chose not to. I shook my head and got out of the car, slamming the door in the process. I began to walk towards the door and hears him pull away.

Before I even put the key in the lock, he was gone.

* * *

**Serenity's POV:**

"Joey, come on, let me in. You need to eat." I sighed softly as I heard no motion from the other side of the door. It had been a couple of days since his breakup with Duke and he'd been barely leaving his room or talking to any of us since. He still went to work and class, but he'd leave when neither Tristan or I were awake and when he came back, he'd go straight to his room.

I had never seen my big brother like this, and it scared me. Tristan had tried the tough love thing, yelling through the door that, ahem, "A bastard like that isn't worth despairing over," which didn't really seem to do any good, but neither did me trying to be the calm type of supportive.

When he didn't answer again after another series of knocks, I set the tray down by the door and bit my lip. "Okay, well, the food's here if you get hungry, and I'm here if you need me. I love you." There was still no sound and I willed myself to leave the doorframe and go back into the kitchen.

Ryou was over, pouring tea into our mugs. We'd taken four out, but he didn't fill the last one. "Am I to gather he won't be joining us for tea?" he asked softly, though I could tell he already knew the answer. I made a face and sat down, putting my head in my hands.

I almost immediately felt Tristan wrap his arms around me, squeezing slightly. "He'll join us on his own terms." He's a lot calmer about all of this than he was when Joey first came upstairs that night, anger seeming to radiate and that sadness so evident on his face in a way neither of us ever thought he'd outwardly show. I think in a way it scared Tristan just as it did me, but he hid it underneath full-fledged contempt for the green-eyed idiot who broke his best friend's heart. In comparison to what he'd showed the last few nights for Duke, their previous relationship actually seemed friendly.

"I just hate that we can't help him." I mumbled as I lifted my head up. I took one of the cups of tea, thanking Ryou for it, and added a couple of sugars in. "I really wish we could."

"I offered to beat the shit out of Duke, but he turned that idea down," Tristan said with a shrug.

"Because violence isn't the answer," Ryou piped in.

"But it can be _an_ answer, and in this situation, I think it would have been a good one."

I rolled my eyes, for someone who talked tough, my boyfriend certainly wasn't a violent street kid. He only really used his strength when it came to defending himself, but he was protective. It was one of the things I loved about him.

"If Joey wanted Duke's lights punched out, he would have done it himself," our British friend pointed out, and I tried to hide a giggle at how right he was. I played it off behind my mug, hoping they wouldn't notice.

Ryou and Tristan ended up in a conversation about something that I paid no attention to. I was lost in thoughts of my brother and how to help him, even though Tristan was probably right. I should let him deal with things on his own, but he'd always been there for me, no matter what. He never let me down and always seemed to know just what to say, and I had always told myself that I'd do the same if he ever needed me for once.

Now, I was failing.

I was startled from my thoughts, almost dropping my cup in the process, by the sound of something getting knocked over and someone tripping from the other room. They were followed closely by my brother's voice spewing out a mix of swear words.

He came in a few moments later, a little more composed, and brushed his fringe out of his face. "Forgot the food was there," he mumbled. I nodded as the other two just watched him. He went to the refrigerator to grab a Coke Zero and then sat in the empty seat at the table.

"Um. Did you want tea?" Ryou asked him. Joey shook his head in response, sipping his soda. Tristan stood up, and when he came back, he had the tray of soup and the sandwich in his hands. The glass that I'd put on it was empty and a little cracked, and I guessed that had been what got knocked over.

Joey spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "I made a decision." We waited for him to continue, Tristan sitting back down. "I need to do something with my life. No more wasting away like some pathetic damsel. No offense, Serenity."

I hadn't even been offended, but I didn't comment on it. Instead, I moved to squeeze his hand and smiled gently. "I'm proud of you for that, big brother."

"Yes, Joey, that's quite a bold decision. I'm glad you've chosen to turn this around." Ryou leaned over to squeeze his shoulder before pulling back. "Do you have any ideas yet about what you want that to mean?"

Joey nodded and bit his lip. He looked down at his free hand for a moment before looking up, more determined and confident than he'd been previously. "I'm going to law school. Tokyo, to be exact."

We were all quiet for a moment, until Tristan spoke up. "You're kidding, right?"

Joey's eyebrows furrowed and he crossed his arms. "You don't think I could?"

Tristan scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't turn that into an insult on your intelligence or determination. I know you could, I mean hell, if Duke could then you could, but why the hell would you? You're really going to put all your energy into following your douchebag ex-boyfriend to the country's top law school and call that _moving on_?"

He slammed his hands down on the table, making Ryou jump a little. "It is moving on, and it's something I'd always thought was interesting but never thought I would be good enough but that's exactly why I need to! I can't keep letting everyone else think I'm not good enough and let them make me think it, too. I can do this, you said it yourself, and I don't care that Duke's there. If there was a law school better than the one he was in, I'd be trying to get to that, but Tokyo's the best, and I need to strive for that. I won't accept anything else."

I watched the back and forth for a bit before they finally quieted down. I'd been clueless when it came to knowing Joey ever felt that way, and that Duke had made him feel that way. He hadn't really talked about the breakup when he'd come home that night and now…

"I believe in you, Joey," I spoke up. I moved to hold his hand again and gave it a squeeze. "If you really want to do this, we'll all be here to support you."

"Your sister's right, Joey, we'll help you in any way we can," Ryou agreed.

Joey squeezed my hand and leaned over to clap Ryou on the shoulder, but he still hadn't looked away from Tristan. I knew the two of them could be stubborn but I knew they also had such good hearts and really loved each other.

Finally, Tristan sighed and stood up. "Well then. Guess we better start studying. Get showered and I'll drive you to the library."

It felt good to see Joey smile like that again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, the decision to have the second half in Serenity’s POV was a very in-the-moment choice. I love her, I really do, so I hope I did her well. I hadn’t planned on having the whole fic in Joey’s POV anyway, hence why I’ve been specifying. The next chapter is probably going to be after a time-skip and showing up at law school months later. Have I mentioned yet how I originally had this idea as Seto being the ex and making it eventual Dragonshipping? I like the way this is flowing better anyway, but I do want more Dragonshipping in the world. Please. I’ll probably do a one-shot or two before I try to do a chaptered thing of them, though, like I did with Puppyshipping.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I start, I just want to say how grateful I am for all your comments/kudos/bookmarks. You are all so encouraging and very nice, and if I sound awkward or anything in my replies, it’s only because I feel like I keep repeating myself but want you to know how much they mean to me. This chapter focuses on Téa more than Joey, because I took a time skip from the Wheelers anyway, and I wanted to give some insight on her. For those who haven’t read my other stuff, let me tell you right now, I love Téa Gardner, so you will not see her being bashed in here. (Okay, maybe a little jealous Joey bashing her but) I honestly decided to make her the new girlfriend halfway just because she shares the same haircut as Vivian from the movie/musical. Without further ado, here is chapter 5!

The Tokyo University Law School campus was bustling with students, incoming and returning, as well as family and friends to see them off and put finishing touches on dorm rooms. A tall brunette with short hair and blue eyes looked around in awe. Most people were moving quickly, but she stood content to take it all in slowly. She was holding hands with a dark haired, green eyed boy who she called hers, both of them prepared to start their journey into being lawyers. The best part was, they were doing it together.

"I can't believe we're really here," Téa spoke up, squeezing Duke's hand in excitement. The last few months had been like a surreal dream to her, starting from when she had run into him again at a family party to learning they were planning to attend the same school, to now being back together and having planned their future out together. She couldn't be happier, she felt like this was really going to be their time. She couldn't wait to start their careers together, become a power couple in the justice field.

And it would all start with working their asses off and getting an internship with one of Tokyo's top lawyers, who happened to teach at their school, which he only gave to 4 or 5 of his students each year. She just had to work hard and believe in her and Duke's skills to be able to get it.

She snapped out of her thoughts due to a hand waving in her face. She turned to look at Duke, who raised an eyebrow at her. "You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"

Téa blushed and bit her lip. "Sorry…daydreaming again."

He rolled his eyes, but smiled at her fondly. "You're lucky you're gorgeous. Come on, I want to go see if my roommate moved in yet. Meet for lunch after our first block?"

Téa nodded; she and Duke had some classes together, luckily, but not all of them. That was fine with her, she didn't want to be seen as just sticking by her man's side through all of it, she wanted to establish herself as her own powerhouse as well. She knew a lot of girls growing up who were content to be the pretty wife of a business man, doctor, lawyer, and not work for themselves, and while she didn't look down on that per se, it wasn't her. She wanted to help people, that was why she was going into law herself. It just so happened that the love of her life had the same passion.

She and Duke walked towards the dorm buildings, giving each other a goodbye kiss before separating. The two of them had already come with their families earlier in the week to move in their stuff, but a lot of students had decided to wait until last minute, their roommates included.

She made her way into her building and up to her dorm, putting her key in and opening the door. When she looked around, she noticed the other side had been filled with belongings, but she didn't see the person they belonged to. She went over to her bed, putting her book bag down to make sure she had everything she needed for her first class.

She jumped a bit when a figure emerged from the wardrobe across from hers, taking in the short girl with long blonde hair. She had freckles and glasses that hid her green eyes. She looked young, and Téa's first thought was that she was her roommate's sister, helping her move in.

"So, I guess you're my roommate, then," the girl spoke in a slightly whiny voice. Téa's eyebrows raised in surprise, this girl looked like she was still a teenager. How could she be her roommate?

"You…you go to Tokyo Law?" she found herself stuttering.

The girl rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she moved to glare at the brunette. "Let me guess, you think I'm too young? Well, I'm _not_ , I'll have you know I started college at only fourteen. I'm a bit of a genius, and I always have been, so I may be younger but I'm smarter than you."

Téa was at a loss for words, this little spitfire was apparently a genius? She suddenly started to wonder if her own confidence wasn't justified after all. Well, no need to be rude to her child genius of a roommate, then. "That's really cool, actually. I'm Téa, I look forward to rooming with you."

Seeing that the older girl wasn't toying with her, Rebecca dropped her defensive stance and greeted her properly. "Rebecca Hawkins."

"Hawkins? Any relation to Professor Arthur Hawkins?" Téa knew she made a mistake when Rebecca pouted again.

"He's my grandfather, but don't think that's why I got in, I'm a—"

"Hey, hey, I wasn't suggesting that at all," she interrupted. She really didn't need her roommate hating her for thinking she looked down on her, especially since she didn't. She decided to change the subject before she accidentally insulted Rebecca again. "Do you want to compare schedules? If we have anything together, it could ease some jitters about finding classrooms or where to sit?"

At that, the blonde smiled and nodded, pulling her schedule from a pile of papers on her desk and handing it to Téa. The older of the two motioned to her bed for the younger to sit, which she did. "Oh, looks like we have our first class together," Téa said with a smile. That'd be good, at least she wouldn't be totally alone.

"I've heard some nasty things about Crowler, I hope we're prepared." The way Rebecca said it left no doubt in Téa's mind that she was prepared. "We have Pegasus together tomorrow as well. Two classes together, not bad, as long as we don't end up hating each other because we see each other too much," she joked. Or at least Téa hoped it was a joke.

"Since I think I already know the answer, I guess it'd be ridiculous to ask if you're going to try for Pegasus' internship?"

"Of course I am, and I'm guessing so are you. Good luck, but if only one of us does get in, I'm going to make sure it's me. But it would be cool if we both did." Rebecca hopped off the bed and smoothed out the comforter she'd wrinkled before going back to her desk. She packed up her bag and smiled at Téa. "If Crowler's as bad as his reputation, we should get there early."

"Good idea, we can make a good impression. At the very least, avoid a bad one by walking in late." Téa nodded, closing the clasp on her own bag after checking that her laptop charger was tucked away.

As it turned out, getting to class early was a very good idea. The two girls beat a big group of students, getting good seats which happened to also be close to outlets for their chargers. Dr. Crowler, as they learned he preferred to be called, got there early as well, and practically rushed the other students in, even though they still had a few minutes.

"Right then, class has officially started, so we shall begin. I'm Dr. Crowler, and you are all stuck with me this semester. For those who actually pay attention and don't waste my time, you will find this class worth every painstaking moment of work I put you through, because you will be rewarded. If you don't, I will make your life hell. I do not appreciate slackers, and as such, this class will begin at exactly nine o'clock in the morning, on the dot, and not a second later. Starting right now, I will lock the door, and anyone who shows up late will not be allowed in." He walked over to the door, beginning to push it closed, as a blond blur ran in, out of breath and very, very disheveled.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Professor, I –"

Crowler put a hand up to silence him. "What is your name, slacker?"

The boy winced and Téa immediately felt bad for him. Rebecca hadn't been kidding about this guy's reputation. "Joey Wheeler, sir."

Crowler looked at his clipboard, marking something down. "Mister Wheeler, you have ironically just missed my speech about how I don't condone lateness, because you were late. I am here and prepared to teach class every day precisely when it is meant to start, why should you get any more time than everyone else here? Is your time more valuable than mine? Than all the other students who made sure they were here and seated when class began?"

"No, I don't—"

"Miss…Gardner?" Crowler asked, looking up from his clipboard. Téa swallowed hard and awkwardly lifted her hand to indicate where she was. "Ah, Miss Gardner. Hypothetical question. Let's say you are a professor at one of the top law schools in the world, after you've worked hard at getting your PhD and publishing your works. Your number one rule in your classroom is that no one is allowed in late, and before you get a chance to lock the door, a slacker comes rushing in. Would you let them stay?"

Téa really didn't want to answer that question. She could tell the answer was supposed to be no, but in her own world, she would. Frankly, she thought Dr. Crowler seemed to think a little too highly of himself, and this kid was only about a minute late on the first day. She looked at him, his brown eyes looked back up at her hopefully. She was brought back into focus by a sharp elbow to her rib.

She'd get Rebecca back for that later. "Uh, no," she started, clearing her throat. "I'd make them leave. It's a rule, after all." She immediately felt terrible, seeing the kid's face drop, embarrassment clear, and Crowler's smirk. She had passed his little test, but she felt like a complete bitch for what she did in order to do so.

Crowler turned back to Joey, giving him a small nod. "Well, your classmate has spoken. Come back next class on time, Mister Wheeler, or don't bother showing up at all, ever again. I don't appreciate having my time wasted." He ushered the boy out of the class, shutting the door and locking it. "Now, onto our lesson, seeing as we're now behind. Who can summarize the reading that was due today?"

A few minutes later, Téa was in the midst of typing her notes when a small piece of paper slid from Rebecca's side of the desk. _'If you're going to be a real lawyer, you can't feel bad about throwing people under the bus.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I go again, adding GX characters into my DM AU. And apologies to anyone if I messed up with the whole “Can you get a PhD in law” issue, because from what I gather, you can, but we’re also talking about a world in which supposedly you can get a PhD in dueling (source: GX dub where Crowler says it 100 times an episode) so… In other news, #prayforwondergirl – I mapped out all my ideas I have for other fics/oneshots, ONLY in YGO and guess what? Over 20, followed by me checking out a tumblr prompt blog and ha haha hahaha. So many ideas, and I’m starting school again soon. I want to find a nice laptop bag/backpack though so I can bring my computer and write in my breaks but. None of this has to do with Legally Blond or this chapter but I like to use these to give you guys updates, so if you read them, thank you very much!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to everyone who reads! Whether you’re letting me know you do or not, I appreciate it. We’re past 500 views on FanFiction.net and 275 hits on AO3! I've also written 6 chapters in a little over a month so I'm really proud of myself. This is exciting. It took me long enough, but here it is: the chapter where I introduce not only the Great and Powerful Seto Kaiba but also the Always Wonderful Yugi Mutou. That part with where he meets Yugi is actually the part I mentioned a while ago that I began writing, but I had to add the part before it…you’ll see what I mean. I hope you all enjoy!

**Joey's POV:**

I stormed out of the building, accidentally slamming the building door behind me. I couldn’t believe it, the first day and I had already gotten kicked out of class. My first class, even, all because I was about two minutes late. My damn alarm didn’t go off and I managed to get ready and get to the building a lot quicker than I thought, without even eating anything, but still. Apparently even one or two minutes was too late for Crowler. Duly noted.

I kicked the nearest trash can in frustration before collapsing onto the bench beside it.

“You know, damaging Tokyo Law property is considered vandalism and I could send you to the dean.” I turned to glare at the nonchalant voice behind me. The man it belonged to was a bit taller than me, with brown hair and piercing blue eyes. If I wasn’t so irked, I might have appreciated how handsome he was, but his demeanor only added to my agitated mood.

“Yeah? What are you, some kind of teacher’s pet?” I asked, rolling my eyes and turning back around. If I wanted to sulk, he should have the decency to leave me alone.

“Teaching assistant, actually,” he replied coolly, and my eyes widened a bit. Shit. Which means he actually did have the authority to turn me in for vandalism if he felt like it. That just made my day even worse.

“Well, whoop-di-doo, look at this hotshot,” I mumbled, and by the scoff I heard behind me, I could tell he heard. I just secretly hoped he wasn’t actually a TA for any of my classes, or he could really make my life hell.

“What are you even doing out here? Most students sleep in if they don’t have class. Unless you should be in class and you’re not.”

I didn’t appreciate the accusatory tone, so I turned back to glare at him. “If I could be in class, I would, but obviously, I can’t, so can you just leave me the hell alone already?”

He looked me over for a moment, raising an eyebrow, before he looked back at the building behind us. A smirk came over his lips and he crossed his arms. “How late were you for Crowler’s class?”

I was taken aback for a good half a minute by him being so spot on. It made sense, thinking about it, he probably knew his colleagues well and chances were, he went here as a student, too. “Not that late, he hadn’t even closed the door. Maybe two minutes,” I answered quietly.

“With him, two seconds is too late. It’s rare he _doesn’t_ kick someone out the first day. Try to get there five minutes early, he takes note of that.”

I was surprised this guy, who frankly seemed like a total jerk, was offering me any help at all. Maybe it was because he was a teaching assistant and it was like, his duty to help first years, but he certainly didn’t seem the type. “Thanks,” I said, expression softening. That smirk hadn’t left his mouth though. “Any other advice?”

“Who else do you have?”

“Oh, uh, Banner, Pegasus, and Hawkins.”

“Banner’s pretty laid back, but he’s no pushover. Do your work and show up and you’ll pass easily, and talk to him about whatever comes up in class. He likes to see his students reach their potential. Hawkins is very by the book, so don’t skip your readings. There’s a lot of notes and he talks fast so if you aren’t prepared, you’ll get in over your head quickly. Speak up in Pegasus’ class, even if you disagree with him, he likes to see your thinking more than anything. If you do it with confidence and good reasoning, it’ll put you on the map for his internship.”

I nodded along, not asking about this internship because I already felt pretty stupid. I had Banner in the afternoon, so at least I wouldn’t be totally screwed, he hadn’t assigned anything yet, but I didn’t do the readings for Hawkins yet, so I’d lucked out. I still had until tomorrow. “Thanks.”

“Just don’t screw it up. I wouldn’t appreciate knowing I wasted my breath.” I took that as his ‘you’re welcome’ as he walked away, squashing down the resemblance my mind gave between him and Crowler with his words. To compare a guy who looks like _that_ to Crowler would be a crime.

“Hey, wait!” I called. “You didn’t tell me your name, or who you teach with?”

He didn’t turn around, just turned his head enough where I could see his profile (and that smirk that was back, what an ass). “You’ll see.”

As he continued walking, I rolled my eyes and slumped back on the bench. “That wasn’t an answer.” I shook my head and sighed, pulling out my phone. I answered Serenity’s text ( _Good luck, Joey, have a great first day!)_ and sent one to Ryou and Tristan, already starting to miss them, even though they’d just helped me move in yesterday.

Tristan answered immediately, asking if I’d seen Duke yet. I said I hadn’t, and no sooner did I press send than I heard the all-too-familiar voice.

“Joey?”

I looked up, trying to give my best friendly smile to my ex. There was no reason to not be cordial. Right? “Hey, Duke. How’s it going?”

He furrowed his eyebrows, sitting down on the bench next to me. “I’m good, how are you? What are you doing here, are you here to see me? If you’d called, I could have made time between classes…”

I almost couldn’t believe it. He thought I’d just came to visit him? “Oh, uh, nope. Not here to see you. I go here, actually.”

He chuckled for a minute until he realized I wasn’t laughing along with him. “You’re serious? You got into law school? _Tokyo Law_?”

Ouch. But I wouldn’t let that hurt me like it used to. “What, like it’s hard?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, I did, and so far, I think it’s pretty cool. I can see why you were excited for it.”

Before he could respond, the door close to us opened and students filed out. A tall brunette girl waved goodbye to a shorter blonde and came over. Duke stood up and greeted her with a tight hug, and I recognized the girl as Miss Gardner – the one Crowler got to say I should be kicked out of class.

She looked at me and seemed to have noticed who I was as well, and defensively, I found myself standing up, straightening my bag on my shoulder.

She, however, didn’t look all that rude now that she wasn’t under Crowler’s stare. “Oh, my gosh, it’s you. Listen, about before, I’m so sorry, that really isn’t me. It’s just Crowler…you understand, right?”

Duke looked confused as he looked back and forth between us. “You two met?”

“Uh, kind of. We have class together,” I answered. “So I guess you’re…?” It was pretty easy to figure out, the way she was hanging all over him. This was clearly the girl he was back together with. Figures.

He suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Um…Joey, this is, um.”

The girl, not realizing how awkward this was suddenly getting, spoke up. “Oh! I didn’t even realize, I’m being so rude, I’m Téa.” She held her hand out to me to shake, and I took it, giving her my best smile. She really did seem nice enough. It was when I took her hand that I noticed something on it, though.

Something shiny and frankly, gorgeous.

“This is Téa,” Duke continued, as if she hadn’t just introduced herself, “my fiancée…”

My throat felt like it was closing up, but I really didn’t want to make a scene right now. My pride wouldn’t let me. It was clear Téa was basically clueless as to who I even was, because she didn’t seem spiteful to the point of just flashing this without a care.

“I just realized, I’m late to call my sister,” I lied. “I have to go.” I turned and immediately began powerwalking away from there, not even noticing where I was going.

“It was nice meeting you!” I heard Téa call, and I wished I could even fake it enough to return the sentiment.

I really couldn’t believe it. _Fiancée_? The bastard was already _engaged_? I bitterly thought of calling up Serenity for real to let her know how right she actually had been. Duke had been getting a ring from his grandmother. We were just naïve enough to think it would be me he’d ask to marry.

I shook my head, wiping my eyes. I didn’t want to allow myself to cry over him, especially in public, but I couldn’t help but feel so _stupid_. I’d always thought we seemed too good to be true, and I guess we were. And to think I’d believed his little, ‘ _we just ran into each other and the feelings came back, it was sudden_ ,’ bull. You don’t get your family heirloom engagement ring from your grandmother for a sudden rekindling.

I took a deep breath, stopping on a bench on the sidewalk. I leaned back and looked around. I actually had no idea where I’d been headed when I started walking, and now I didn’t know how far I’d gone or how to get back to campus. “Great. Let’s just add this on to the list of things I’m stressed about,” I mumbled to myself, biting my lip as I took in my surroundings.

I spotted a restaurant that looked almost like the one I worked at back home. I found myself drawn to it, and as I stepped in, my mind started to calm itself. This was probably the closest thing to home I had right now without having to call up my sister or my friends from Domino. I knew if I did that, I’d feel overwhelmed by Tristan’s anger and Serenity and Ryou’s sympathy and break down completely. I couldn’t handle that right now.

“Uh, hi, hello. Please, take a seat anywhere.” I blinked out of my thoughts as I heard a small voice pipe up. I looked down at the waiter, a little surprised by how short he was. I briefly wondered how old he actually was but pushed that aside for now, that wasn’t the most important thing. I nodded at his request and gave him a quiet thank-you, finding a booth by the back.

Within just a few moments, the waiter came back over with a glass of water and a menu, and it was then I realized how hungry I actually was. Skipping breakfast to make it to Crowler’s class had been a total waste. “Hi, I’m Yugi, and I’ll be your server today.” For a moment, I was reminded of Ryou, had he been shorter with different hair. This waiter gave off the same vibe. “Would you like anything to drink, or is just water good?”

“Oh, um, just water’s fine. Actually, I already know what I’d like to eat, too.”

He seemed a little surprised, but his smile widened as he pulled out his pad. “Awesome, what can I get you?” I ordered a burger deluxe with extra fries, and he skipped on over to the cooks to give them the order. I immediately began to feel better, thoughts of the crappy first day pushing themselves out of my mind.

I pulled my phone back out, going to the group chat my friends and I had, and sent a quick message. ‘ _If/when you guys visit me, I have the perfect little diner I wanna take you to._ ’ Granted, I hadn’t actually tasted the food yet, but still.

The bell over the door dinged again and two younger teenagers came in, and I could tell from first sight that they were punks. They just had that look about them, one of them with very large glasses and blue hair, and the other with a red beanie covering messy brown hair. Yugi greeted them and they took their seats about two booths away from me.

Growing up in a neighborhood like mine, plus working in a diner like this, I liked to think I could tell when people were up to no good, and these two weren’t.

I kept an eye out as Yugi took their order and then went to give me my food. He seemed either really oblivious or too trusting, and he was also the only waiter that seemed to be on duty today. I began picking at my fries, not really paying attention to them. I watched as Yugi walked around the counter to make two milkshakes. He put them and a can of whipped cream on a tray and headed back over to their booth, but before he could place the tray on the table, he tripped.

Well, he _was_ tripped. I saw it almost immediately, the blue haired kid sitting a little too close to the edge of the booth had stuck his foot out. I jumped up on instinct, catching the tray in one hand and Yugi’s arm in the other.

The kids looked at me in shock, they clearly had assumed Yugi would just fall on his face. They couldn’t have known how good my reflexes were. Neither did Yugi, his big eyes were wide and appreciative. I set the tray down and settled him on his feet.

“Hey, you know, you shouldn’t sit so close to the edge,” I said, though I was trying my best to let the kid know I wasn’t being casual about it. “ _Someone_ could get hurt.” They both nodded and moved in closer to the window. “You alright, Yug’?”

“Yeah, thanks to you!”

I shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal of it, and motioned for him to come back to my booth. “Can you sit until they’re done?” I knew when my boss was actually there, I could never, but sometimes when he wasn’t and it wasn’t too busy, I could sit down with Tristan and Serenity.

He nodded in response, sitting down across from me. “How’d you get there so fast?” he asked, looking back at the other booth.

“I saw it coming. Here, have fries.”

He scrunched his eyebrows up at me. “You saw it coming?”

I lowered my voice and shrugged again. “They looked like troublemakers, so I watched them. One of them tripped you. Little punks. You’re not eating. I don’t offer my food to people often, eat some fries.”

Yugi’s eyes widened and then he did what I think was a glare (he was pretty cute; it wasn’t all that intimidating.) “Those jerks. I wish I could have spit in their shakes.” He pouted and took a fry, stuffing it in his mouth. I laughed and shook my head. I knew that feeling all too well. “You’re really nice. Not a lot of customers are. That was probably weird of me to say…”

“Nah, it’s fine. I worked as a waiter in a place like this back at home. I know the feeling. The name’s Joey, by the way. Joey Wheeler.”

“Nice to meet you, Joey, and thanks again. So, you’re not from here? Where are you from?”

I suddenly got a little embarrassed, having to admit it. “Er…Domino, I don’t know if you heard of it…” Chances are he had, and all bad things. Tokyo wasn’t far from home, close enough where everyone knew Domino was somewhere you didn’t willingly go.

Surprisingly, Yugi nodded and didn’t drop his smile. He didn’t seem scared or anything. “Yeah, I used to live there, actually. I was a kid, though, I don’t remember it.” Lucky him. “Then I moved in with my grandpa out here. What’d you move out here for?”

I didn’t want to push and ask why he had to move in with his grandpa as a kid, so I just took the question as it went. “Oh, I actually started law school today.” That felt even weirder to admit than that I was from Domino City.

Yugi’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s so cool! At Tokyo? I heard that’s really hard to get in, good for you!” He was honestly impressed by me. That was new, I’d felt my sister and friends be proud of me for it, but no one had ever been impressed before.

“Eh, it’s not that big a deal,” I insisted, though feeling pretty good about myself. “You just gotta work for what you want.”

Yugi took another fry before looking back at the teens. “I should go give them the check before they try to skip out.”

“If they do, I’ll pound them,” I offered and he laughed.

“You’re supposed to be a lawyer, maybe we could just sue instead.”

I shrugged and chuckled. “Hey, I’m still a lawyer in training. I already know how to punch.” Despite the violent talk, I think Yugi could tell I was kidding around, because he didn’t seem scared or disgusted by me or anything.

I had a feeling I might have just met my first Tokyo friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, spoiler alert for those who haven’t actually seen Legally Blonde: the characters I equated Duke and Téa with don’t end up together, so I’m wondering if I want to break that and keep them together or not. Hmm…any suggestions? I like them in theory but I don’t know about in this instance. There’s also the possibility of him and Rebecca because I made her older and them with just about 3 or 4-year age difference? Ugh, decisions. I hope you all liked my intros for my loves Seto and Yugi. A couple more chapters and I’ll bring in Atem.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry I took so long on this chapter and you all had to wait! I kind of got insanely busy the last couple of weeks and didn’t want to rush to get this done on the few moments of free time I had. I did post a one-shot and two chapters of another chaptered work I couldn’t help but start. If you guys could check those out, it’d be very appreciated. But now I’m here and I hope you enjoy chapter 7 of Legally Blond. Again, apologies for the wait! PS – I did that thing I do where I write out parts in advance. I’ve got two things that are Puppyshipping moments written out! Just gotta write what’s in between them.

**Kaiba's POV** :

Working for an ass like Pegasus was probably the worst part of trying to become a lawyer in this town. He was annoying as hell and for a man who could hold a person’s life in his hands and damn them to hell if he didn’t do his job right, he rarely seemed to take things seriously.

Whoever said those who can’t do, teach, however, was sorely mistaken in this instance. Pegasus knew how to do his job exceptionally well, and his teaching skills might have been a little off, but there was never a doubt he produced some of the best lawyers to come out of this school through his internship.

I, of course, was living proof of that. Yet I was still here as his damn assistant and associate, working my way up to junior partner. I knew I was better off than most, his former students usually had to wait years following graduation to even get back on his radar, first gaining experience in other law firms. I deserved it, of course, having worked my ass off to get this far, so I knew it wasn’t just luck. No matter what people may have said.

Most lawyers in his league wouldn’t even have time to teach law students as well, but Pegasus’ fame and fortune didn’t come from having a lot of clients. It came from having the right clients. Clients like the rich and famous, the likes of which included the Princeton family who was moving up in the world and of course, my own stepfather.

I watched as Pegasus began greeting the students who filed in early, flamboyant as ever, and leaned against the desk to glare at some of the ones who stared at me for too long. I wasn’t much older than them but they needed to still learn respect.

Among the ones filtering in, I noticed the blond I’d confronted on the bench the day before. He seemed in his own world, though, and hadn’t noticed me yet. Brilliant. I’d just keep an eye on him until I could see his face when I realized I was the teaching assistant for the professor who actually could make his law school career hell. Crowler was tough and full of himself, oh yeah, but Pegasus actually had pull.

He set himself up near the middle of the lecture hall. Good move, too far in front or back was a rookie mistake.

I don’t know what it was about this guy that even got me to give him advice. Assistant teacher or not, I knew I wasn’t going to actually teach after all this anyway, so it’s not as if I cared about seeing people succeed. They should fail on their own two feet rather than succeed holding someone else’s hand. The thing was, you could just tell he wasn’t like the other students in this room. He was different. I wanted to see how he survived this. _If_ he survived this.

It could be fun to see him beat the odds…or crash and burn. Either one.

The rest of the students drifted in, some powerwalking through the door to avoid being late, and when they settled in, Pegasus decided it was time to start.

“Good afternoon, my little protégés. Though I’m sure you all know it already, I’m Maximillian Pegasus, but Professor, or Pegasus, or Professor Pegasus will do. I’m the top lawyer in Tokyo, probably in all of Japan, but I don’t mean to brag now.”

I rolled my eyes, hiding it by turning to the desk and shuffling papers so the class didn’t see me. Of course he meant to brag. He had license to brag. I didn’t mind if people were cocky, if they deserved it like he did, but I couldn’t stand false humility.

“Now, over the next nine months, you will be blessed with having me guide you through defensive law as if it were a Labyrinth and I were Daedalus.” I had a feeling only a quarter of the class got the reference. “Then you will be off studying with the other fine professors here at Tokyo Law, and eventually taking internships and becoming associates at the various law firms around the country. I will warn you now, I don’t take interns except in their first year. So, in order to work for me, you must impress me now. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

He clapped his hands together and I turned back around, examining the crowd. Half of them looked scared out of their wits. Smart. Some looked confident that they’d be doing just that, impressing Pegasus when they barely knew their stuff. A few others just looked confused, or maybe they were wondering what the hell Pegasus was on. That had been my reaction on my first day.

“Every year, I take four or five interns from my class, students who are truly exceptional. Now, I don’t mean just in grades, either, I need to see that you have what it takes to _think_ like a lawyer, _act_ like a lawyer, to _be_ a lawyer. I hold on to those interns for their stay at Tokyo Law; if they do well, I give them excellent recommendations and let them do their associateship at another firm to gain extra experience. Most come back to me after a couple of years and if I feel they grew the way they needed to, they become an associate for me, headed to hopefully become a junior partner. It’s very rare that I bump an intern up to associate immediately, but it has happened over the years. Standing beside me is living proof of that.”

He motioned to me and I crossed my arms, looking bored at the class. “This is Mr. Kaiba, for those who don’t already know him. He is easily the best student I’ve had in the last five years, one of the best of the decade. He is also my teaching assistant, so if there’s ever a time you cannot reach me or I am unable to come to class, he will usually be available. That obviously isn’t always true, if I’m needed in court, chances are he’ll be by my side. Mr. Kaiba is what I will be measuring you all up against and he will be helping me choose my interns. I suggest you don’t get on his bad side, because compared to him, you’ll all look like a fish out of water.”

The class had turned their scared looks towards me. They didn’t know that Pegasus was overstating how much influence I had on him picking his interns, but whatever. They should be scared of me anyway. I caught the blond’s eye, he’d finally seemed to take notice of me, but I didn’t see the same fear in most of the other students. If anything, he was making a face that I was sure should be read as, “ _Really? This guy?_ ”

I must’ve glared at him because soon he was glaring back, ignoring everything Pegasus was saying. Maybe he’d crash and burn after all, first day and he already was zoning out in class. He broke the eye contact; luckily for me because I never liked to and a minute later, Pegasus was asking me to give him the attendance sheet and lesson plan for the day.

Throughout class, I kept glancing by the blond, but he didn’t seem to be paying attention to me anymore. A couple of times, Pegasus asked a question and I saw his hand go up, but he was quickly overshadowed (as was half the class) by an eager know-it-all of a blonde who seemed determined to answer everything.

I almost felt bad for the friends she was with. Almost. I mean, they could have easily decided to not hang out with someone so annoying. I also started to dread her, because I had a feeling she was more than just a shoe-in for a spot in the internship.

Luckily for me, Pegasus only taught one class at Tokyo Law, which meant I only had to be back inside a classroom twice a week for two hours each. Since he also didn’t have a lot of work to ever do at his office, I was almost always permitted to do my own work at home.

I walked through the door of my apartment and furrowed my eyebrows at how quiet it was. I checked my watch – 2:15. I cautiously walked through the hallway and to the living room, where I saw what I was looking for, part of it anyway.

A long body was sprawled out on the couch, with its face covered by a large open book, framed by messy black hair. I rolled my eyes and smiled, lifting up the book and shaking my head. The damn thing was heavier than some of my law books used to be, how had he not broken his nose?

I was careful not to lose the page as I set it down on the coffee table, putting my briefcase down as well. I moved back up to full height and stared down at my brother who still hadn’t woken up yet.

All it took was one quick snap of my fingers by his ear before he jolted awake, sitting up with wide eyes. He looked around frantically, visibly calming down when he saw me. “Oh, Seto, it’s just you. I had a weird dream about mind control and prophecies and…dragons? It was weird.”

I bit back a chuckle, even as an adult, my little brother had an overactive imagination. “Write it down before you forget it. You could make it into a book.” That was his dream, to be an author. A really good, well-known one. Well, that was one dream; the other was to open a theme park. We needed a bit more money before that one could happen.

“Where’s Noah? Did he get back from class yet?”

Mokuba stared into space and scrunched up his nose, trying to remember. After a minute, I sighed. “Forget it, I’ll go check myself.” Clearly, he’d been asleep for a while. “Stop staying up so late and you won’t need midday naps. You’re supposed to be applying for jobs.”

“I did! I swear, I applied to three different publishing companies this week,” he insisted, and I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He’d just graduated college (early, because he’s my brother and he’s a genius) and I decided to let him enjoy the summer before having to worry about work.

“Alright. I believe you.” I walked away, turning down the hallway leading to our bedrooms. I stopped outside one of the doors, listening. At first it was quiet, but then I heard the all too familiar sound of my stepbrother swearing. I knocked lightly, waiting until I heard the muffled, “ _Come in_ ,” before entering.

The teal-haired youngest of our family was glaring at a pile of metal that I assumed was supposed to be turning into a robot, tip of his index finger against his lips. “The damn thing shocked me,” he explained. Mokuba was a genius, but his talents laid in creativity. Our stepbrother Noah was an ace with computers and technology.

“I see. Well, I just wanted to let you know I was back, and see how class went.” He’d just started at a technical university, his first year.

“It was fine, I switched out my class on Saturday to a different one on Fridays though, so I won’t be home for dinner Fridays anymore.”

I nodded; I knew that was all he wanted to say right now. He could be either very quiet or very talkative, but if something went wrong, he’d be telling me or Mokuba. I turned to walk out, about to head back out to the living room to make sure I had everything in order for the next day. Halfway out the door, however, I was stopped again.

“Oh, wait, Seto? About that financial aid issue.” I grimaced a bit, I hated the way financial aid worked sometimes. My brothers and I all got most of our way in university paid through scholarships because of our grades, but the rest came through the school’s aids. For the third time now, universities held back aid because they knew who our ‘living parent’ was. It didn’t matter that we didn’t take a dime from him, that we didn’t even live with him, just the fact that he was alive meant the people in charge thought he’d be paying our way.

“Right, did you get the paperwork in fixing that?”

“I went to, and they said they’d look at it, but that’s the weird part. They said that the remaining balance had already been paid? I didn’t know if that was you and you just didn’t get to tell me or if it was…” He trailed off and I could tell that he must have gathered from the look on my face that it had not been me. “What should I do? Should I go talk to him?”

I shook my head. “Just focus on your books and grades. I’ll handle it,” I said sternly. He nodded, looking a little relieved that he wouldn’t have to deal with our father. “Don’t work on that for too long, it’s your turn to pick dinner.”

“Pizza,” he said simply and I rolled my eyes.

“Would it kill you and Mokie to ever pick something healthy?” I asked on my way back out the door.

“Yes!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you guys like the tidbit of this universe’s Seto’s life? If you read my other stuff, I’ve mentioned before I adore Noah. I can’t help it, he’s just an interesting character, especially in AUs! I didn’t want to fully go into the whole Gozaburo thing but I wanted to give a peek at it because it’s going to be brought up later (and maybe be something Joey and Seto bond over? Wink, wink?) In terms of ages, by the way, Seto is 25, Mokuba’s 20, and Noah’s 18. Joey/Duke/Téa are all 21-22. A little weird that they’re closer to Mokuba’s age than Seto’s but… As for my question on opinions for if Duke and Téa should stay together, I’m still deciding so if you want to keep giving your opinions, that’s fine! Also, I have another chaptered idea that I cannot decide what pairings to use.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. Thank you all for the patience when it comes to this story. I’m updating slowly but surely, working my writing around my classes, homework, and trying to keep a social life afloat. If you’re sticking with me, I really do appreciate it more than you know! This chapter introduces Atem, my beloved, and a quick cameo by Marik, my bae. Hope you all enjoy!

**Joey's POV:**

It was my second month at law school and already I had taken to doing some homework at the diner Yugi worked at. It was never that busy, so he and his coworkers didn’t seem to mind me taking up a booth by myself. Occasionally, I’d order something small to eat, or a soda, and when Yugi had breaks or his shift ended, he’d sit with me.

Sometimes he offered to help me by quizzing me (most of which I bombed) and others, he’d pull out a book of his own to read. Once, he brought his Duel Monsters deck, which he learned that day distracted me to no end. (I’d pulled my first all-nighter that night – Hawkins decided to assign three chapters reading and I came into his class caffeinated up and jittery. It was completely worth it, though; Yugi gave me a card that worked wonders for my deck, Time Wizard.)

Today, he had off and was reading a book while eating one of the pastries that his coworker had brought over, _on the house_. The guy’s name was Marik, and I didn’t really have a problem with him except that he seemed a little too flirty and I knew that if either Ryou or I had made our uniform into a crop top, we’d have been in big trouble. Other than that, he seemed nice enough, and we chatted for a few minutes about his motorcycle. I was tempted to take him up on the offer for a ride to campus, but I’d caught Yugi giggling and rolling his eyes behind my back, so I held back.

“You know, you haven’t turned the page in about ten minutes,” my friend’s voice broke into my thoughts.

I blinked a couple of times, focusing on the book in front of me to realize he was right. “Whoops,” I laughed.

“Daydreaming of your bike ride later?” he joked, tilting his head.

“Funny. Nah, I wasn’t. It’s just hard to focus on so much reading.” Hawkins was killing me, but this assignment wasn’t even for his class.

This was for Pegasus, who might very well have been the strangest professor I’d ever had. I was in his class with Duke and Téa, and Téa’s very loud blonde friend who tried to overrun every question. I knew they were all after the internship, but I needed it. I couldn’t _not_ get recognized by the greatest lawyer in Japan. That was basically a sure path to a career.

The problem was, having those two in class was very distracting, as was the determination I felt to get the internship, because along with determination came stress. A lot of stress.

Really, it was dumb of me not to realize how utterly stressed out I’d be going to law school. If I’d known this, and didn’t know Duke as well as I did, I would have actually believed he’d be too busy with school to have a relationship. I don’t even know how he and Téa were doing it.

I shut the book and shrugged. “Whatever. I’ll just flunk out. Duke can forget about his trash ex-boyfriend, Téa can live her happy life that should have been mine, and that damn TA Kaiba can stop fucking glaring at me every class.”

“ _Language_.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, remembering the way Ryou almost always chastised me for the same thing. “Really?”

Yugi blushed and shrugged. “I do work here, y’know. You could bite back the swears while you’re at my place of employment.”

“Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot.”

“First of all, you are not trash. Second, from what you said about Téa, she doesn’t sound like a bad person.”

I sighed and slumped back in my seat. He had a point. She kept trying to be nice every time we saw each other. If anything, that made me not like her even more. It was easier to be bitter and jealous if she was horrible, but her being friendly made me angry she wasn’t more hate-able. Was that a word? Hate-able? Able to be hated?

“Maybe you should give her a chance?”

“A chance at what? To go shopping and gossip about what sex positions I’ve had her fiancé in?”

Yugi blushed a darker red and spluttered. “ _Joey!_ ”

“Sorry, Yug’, I can’t help it. I’m crass.”

“You’re a perv is what you are.” He shook his head and closed his book.

I smiled sheepishly and didn’t answer, taking a bite from another pastry. The bell on the door opened, which I usually didn’t even pay attention to, but Yugi’s eyes widened.

“ _Shit_ ,” he practically squealed, grabbing a napkin and rubbing the crumbs from his mouth.

“Language,” I responded, eyebrows furrowing. I knew I didn’t know him very long, but I hadn’t seen him like this before and it was weird.

I moved to turn my head, see what he was looking at, but I felt a sharp kick under the table. “What the hell, Yug’?”

“ _Don’t look_! That’ll make it obvious!” he whisper-yelled.

“Make what obvi—”

“Oh god, he’s coming over here.”

“Who?”

If I thought I was confused during Pegasus’ homework assignment, I was even more confused now. Yugi smiled a little awkwardly and I must have looked like an idiot, pastry half to my mouth, not moving a muscle.

A moment later, I figured out who the _who_ was. A man who looked a little shorter than me, with tan skin and red eyes came over. He was pretty handsome, wearing a black shirt with no sleeves that showed off his biceps.

I was no longer confused. I could completely understand why Yugi was so flustered.

“Hey, Yugi,” the man greeted, and I kid you not, his voice was like honey. That probably doesn’t even make sense, but if a voice could sound like honey, his did. He balanced a box on his shoulder, shirt hiking up a little. I could tell Yugi was trying not to glance down, staring at his face, but the guy wasn’t looking at me so, hey. I sneaked a look. _Nice_.

“H-hey, Atem.”

Smooth, Yugi. Way to play it cool.

I glanced back and forth between them for a moment before they finally seemed to remember I was there.

“Oh, uh, this is my new friend Joey.”

I smiled, putting my pastry down. “Nice to meet you.”

“You as well,” he answered. “I’d shake your hand, but these are a bit heavy.” He motioned to the box and I nodded.

“Understood.”

He turned back to Yugi. “So, uh, we have the delivery.”

Okay, so neither Yugi or Atem seemed to understand how to flirt. Noted.

“I see… _Oh_! I’m not working today,” Yugi said, looking visibly upset.

“Oh,” and so did Atem. “So who is?”

“That would be me,” Marik said, making his way over. “Hey, you. Long time, no see.” He leaned against Atem, his hand going to his bare bicep. The delivery man looked like he had no idea what was happening, and Yugi looked a little peeved.

“Yes, it’s been a while,” Atem agreed.

“Yeah, it’s weird, it’s almost as if you _only_ do deliveries when Yugi’s there to take it in.” Marik laughed. “Usually it’s Mako coming in when I’m here. Weird coincidence.” Atem nodded. “Alright, time to take these into the back.” With that, Marik took Atem’s hand and practically dragged him to the back, with no regard for the heavy box he was carrying.

As soon as they were out of our vision, Yugi let his head fall down in his arms. He whined, though the sound was muffled by the bed his crossed arms had made.

“So. Atem, huh?” I asked, smirking a little. I leaned back against the seat again and Yugi looked up.

“I’m pathetic.”

I racked my head for a supportive word, but all that came out was, “Yeah.” That just made Yugi whine again. “But for what it’s worth, so is he.”

“Don’t say that! He is not!”

I rolled my eyes. “Really? According to Marik, he only comes in here when you’re working to greet him.”

He squinted at me. “Yeah? So? That’s probably just because Marik’s shameless.”

I couldn’t believe it. “Yugi, you’re very dense. He likes you.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Yes, he does. Why don’t you ask him out or something? He’d say yes.”

He laughed. “Yeah, sure, and after that you’ll end up straddling Kaiba.”

I glared at him. “That is absolutely not a comparable scenario.”

“Yes, it is; they’re both as likely as pigs flying.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Kaiba, in your own words, ‘ _has a stick up his ass_ ’.”

“Not _that_. I meant Atem and you going out.”

“Because I’m _me_.” That was actually kind of heartbreaking to hear, as if that itself should be enough of a reason for a guy not to like him. “Marik and him are probably hooking up in the back as we speak.”

For what it was worth, I didn’t think Marik was actually going to try something on Atem, but seeing as I had just met both of them today, I didn’t want to speak my thoughts. If anything, Marik seemed like he was just trying to get under their skin.

“Then go back there and ask your coworker to keep his tongue in his own mouth because Atem’s yours.”

Yugi rolled his eyes and laughed. “Joey, _you_ couldn’t even keep a guy. What hope do I have?”

It took me a minute to realize the implications of that, during which Atem and Marik came out of the back room. “It was nice seeing you, Yugi. Hopefully you’re working next week,” he said, giving my friend an award winning smile. “Nice to meet you, Joey.”

“You, too,” I mumbled, but I wasn’t really paying attention as he walked out. Marik went over to one of the other tables, checking in on the customers.

Yugi really thought that highly of me that he honestly didn’t think he had a chance with a guy like that because Duke had fucked me over. I don’t even think Serenity or Ryou thought that way about me. (Sure, Serenity already had a boyfriend, and a pretty great one at that, but still…)

My watch beeped and I dazedly looked down at it, eyes widening when I saw the time. “Shit. I gotta go, or I’m gonna miss my bus back. Can’t be late.” I grabbed my book, tucking it under my arm. “Yug’, listen to me, okay? You are a great guy and if he doesn’t see that, he’s an idiot and isn’t deserving of you, not the other way around. Got it?” He nodded, but the look on his face told me he didn’t actually believe it. “But for what it’s worth, I really think you should take the chance.”

I fished a couple of bills out of my pocket, slipping them into Marik’s apron on my way out.

“Wait, I thought I was giving you a ride?” I heard called after me. ‘ _Maybe next time._ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know why I had that brief moment of Marik flirting with Joey, it just happened and I thought it was fun. Completely awkward Yugi and Atem were fun to write, too. Anyway, thanks again for reading, I hope you liked it. If you can/want to let me know your thoughts, I try to respond to all of them!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I’m trying to be even and upload one chapter of each of my fics at a time (Legally Blond and Of Blood & Spirit) but as of right now, I have chapter 5 of OB&S up and up to chapter 7 written, so I’m trying to write what I can of this and post it. This is chapter 9 which is weird to think that I’ll be in the double digits soon. I hope you guys are enjoying this. I know I’m enjoying writing it. This chapter starts in Kaiba’s POV and ends in Joey’s.

**Kaiba's POV** :

"I'm sorry, you cannot see him without an appointment."

I glared at the young secretary who looked up at me, eyes fluttering a bit. It was almost gross how young she really was, my age or even younger, because I knew my stepfather didn't hire her for her extraordinary skills. I wondered if she knew what a sleaze her boss was.

"I know for a fact that it is his lunch break right now. Let me in."

"Like I said, sir, you cannot see him without—"

"Don't you have any idea who I am? Aren't you taught familial emergencies trump a lack of appointment?" I asked through gritted teeth.

Her eyes widened a bit. I should have played the damn Kaiba card for the whole month he'd been avoiding my calls, but while he still owned it, I _hated_ having to. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…Are you one of his sons?"

I held back the shudder at that title. No. I wasn't his son. I was his stepson who hated him more than I needed to breathe. But here, in KaibaCorp. Headquarters, I was his son.

"Yes. Seto. Tell him it's an emergency."

She nodded frantically, picking up the intercom. "Excuse me, sir, um one of your sons is here to see you. He says it's an emergency. No, it's Seto, sir." She nodded, though he couldn't see her, and hung up the intercom. "I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding, Mr. Kaiba. You can go right in." She smiled nervously and I almost felt bad. She probably thought I was about to fire her, as if I had any authority in this building.

Some day. But not today.

I gave a curt nod, walking to the door as professional as I could. I refrained from slamming the door shut once I was on the other side, despite the temptation.

"I'm dying to know what kind of emergency brings you to this office, Seto. You haven't stepped foot in this building in years." Whether it was the tone of my stepfather's voice or just him in general, I didn't know, but I wanted to punch him.

"You know damn well what brings me here, Gozaburo."

He crossed his hands in front of his mouth, but I still heard the chuckle behind them. "You are such a lawyer, Seto. Professional front in public, yet so disrespectful behind closed doors."

"Stay out of my brothers' lives, there's a reason neither of them speak to you anymore."

"Yes, because they followed their wayward older brother on a path to independence. How independent are you now, Seto? Have your own firm yet? Or are you a partner yet? No, from what I hear, you're still following Pegasus around all day."

"At least I'm working on making something of myself, as are Noah and Mokuba. We are not your puppets anymore, we're not even your sons."

"That's not what you just told my secretary, though, is it? Seems you're fine using being a Kaiba when you need to."

"Don't worry, other than in that moment, I never will again."

"I'm not worried, Seto. Not about you or even Mokuba, for that matter. You two always were problem children. Noah, on the other hand, will return when he's meant to. He's always been my son."

"No, he sees you for what you are, just like Mokuba and I do. No amount of money you shove into his tuition or bank account will change that, so take it back."

"If it doesn't change anything, why does it matter if I want to give him some help? He's my son, Seto, and a better one than you ever were. I want to reward him for that. Help him reach his potential in that fancy tech school he's started up in. I know you can't on that on your assistant's salary."

I glared at him, what I could or couldn't do for my brothers wasn't his business anymore. It was our life. Not his. "Because we know how you operate, Gozaburo. You don't do things out of the goodness of your heart, not for us. Especially not for us. You do them to have something to hold over people's heads."

He laughed again and the urge to punch him intensified. "Is this the garbage about me you feed to your brothers? No wonder they follow you so blindly, though I'd hoped Noah would be smarter than that."

I shook my head. "You're pathetic. Stay the fuck out of our lives before I make you stay out." He didn't respond, and I didn't give him a lot of time to, either, so I turned to leave.

When I was halfway out the door, his voice stopped me again.

"By the way, Seto, you should tell my son to come fight his own battles next time. It's a lot more respectful."

"Then it's a good thing none of care about having your respect," I answered, slamming the door like I'd wanted to since I entered. The secretary watched me, a little frightened, but I didn't pay much attention as I walked out.

**Joey's POV** :

I didn't want to be distracted in class. In fact, when I'd started law school, I swore to myself I wouldn't let myself be distracted in class. Yet, here I was, trying to pay attention to Pegasus' ramble (where he probably talked himself up about five times so far) and I couldn't focus on his words.

I'd spent the entirety of the bus ride from Yugi's job to school (which wasn't that long, but still) thinking about a way I could get him and Atem together. I was certainly no Cupid, but I'd helped Serenity and Tristan, after all. I could help Yugi get the confidence to make a move. Or maybe find a way for Atem to just be less oblivious to everything.

My eyes wandered away from Pegasus just as my thoughts had, and I ended up glancing over at Kaiba. Yugi's words echoed in my head. _'And after that, you'll end up straddling Kaiba.'_ I fought down the heat in my cheeks at the thought. The jerk in question was lounging in Pegasus' chair like it was his rightful throne, alternating between reading papers and scanning the class every few minutes.

I looked down as I noticed he was about to look back up at us again. He'd been such an ass even as he was helping me my first day, _'Just don't screw it up. I wouldn't appreciate knowing I wasted my breath.'_ Like his breath was all that special. I didn't feel like getting glared at again, which he'd taken to doing every time I caught his eyes. (What? No, I didn't do that often. Not on purpose. It just happens. Shut up.) I tried to focus on what Pegasus was saying, along with the slide on the board.

"Mr. Wheeler," oh shit. I'd decided to focus too late, and now Pegasus had called on me. "How would you best strategize a case for the defendant in the reading?"

Shit. The reading. The reading that I couldn't focus on in the diner. The reading that I'd stopped before meeting Atem. The reading that I was supposed to finish reading on the bus on the way back.

The reading I didn't read.

"Uh…"

He looked at me expectantly and a few students turned their heads to me as well. Unfortunately, some of those students were Duke, Téa, and her friend (who I'd heard through the grapevine was Professor Hawkins' granddaughter). To make matters worse, even Kaiba had his eyes fixed on me again.

After a few more moments of agonizing silence, Pegasus nodded. "Okay. Since Mr. Wheeler doesn't, does anyone have an answer to the question?" A few tentative hands went up, including the three sitting a few rows in front of me. "Miss Gardner?"

Téa gave her strategy and Pegasus got a little too excited that she'd answered correctly. He gave her a couple of _'Bravas'_ and then went on into more detail the best way to have handled the defense. I didn't want to, but I suddenly disliked her even more now.

I got the feeling someone wasn't done glaring at me and I looked back over to Kaiba, who was wearing a smirk and shook his head before going back to his papers. Fucking asshole. Was he in an even jerkier mood today or something? Maybe he just decided to be more of an ass for the fun of it. That was probably it.

I couldn't help but zone out for the rest of the class, occasionally pulling out the book and trying to read (that didn't really work). I couldn't believe I was already drowning and we were barely in the swing of things.

I got that feeling that someone was staring at me again and I looked over to Kaiba once more, but he was glaring at some other student who had his phone out. I looked around to see whose eyes I felt on me and noticed Duke, Téa, and the Hawkins girl whispering and glancing at me.

Great. Because their presence wasn't distracting enough.

When class was over, I was basically desperate to get out of there so I maneuvered my way out quickly. Unfortunately, that meant I was almost directly behind Duke and the two girls, because they'd been in the row by the door.

I tried not to listen to their conversation (and I swear, I really tried) but both Duke and the blonde had loud voices that seemed to travel up, down, and everywhere. They were talking about a get-together in the girls' dorm building, and suddenly I missed parties. I missed that when I went to university, no one was this serious and we would go out and have fun. I missed Tristan and I falling over each other because he was drunk and I was laughing too hard to keep him upright.

I missed home.

I didn't realize how close to the group I'd gotten until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up, eyes focusing on big, blue ones. "Heh?"

Téa laughed a little. "Sorry to bring you out of your daydream. Are you okay? You looked like you were falling asleep before, too…"

I smiled at her and I hoped it came off sincere. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Good answer today." I didn't remember her answer, but I knew it'd been good because Pegasus had said so.

"Thank you! That reading was really boring, though. If it weren't for Rebecca, I'd have probably zoned out through it." She pointed out the blonde and I nodded, filing her name away for if I ever needed it. "By the way, we're having a get together tonight, in our dorm common room. A lot of the girls wanted to do it, need a break and all. Everyone's invited as long as it doesn't get too crazy. It'd be great if you came."

I raised an eyebrow at her. She was inviting me to a party. That was actually really nice of her. "Uh, sure. Yeah, I'll try to make it."

"Great! Hopefully we'll see you tonight." She smiled a little wider and walked away, grabbing Duke's hand on the way.

Rebecca held back, watching them go, before coming up to me. "She forgot to tell you, it's a costume party," she said before skipping off after them.

"O-kay, then…" Did I even have a costume here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m trying to move this story along because I don’t want to drag out parts that don’t need to be dragged out. I think I’m going to put one of the parts I wrote already into the next chapter, but I need to write the start of that chapter. It’s going to have some Duke and Joey moments as well as the babes, Joey and Kaiba. Thank you all for reading, I hope you liked it!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter was long enough on its own to a chapter, so I ended up stopping it there. Next chapter is written as well (by the way, this was written the same day Chapter 9 was, so I basically had 9, 10, 11 all done at once) and so is 12, so I’ll just work on the next one and the next chapters of Of Blood & Spirit so that I can keep the updates flowing. Hope you all enjoy!

**Joey’s POV** :

“Are you sure this doesn’t look completely ridiculous?”

“No!”

“Yes.”

I glared at the two figures in the mirror. I don’t know why I made the mistake of coming back to _‘A La Rhodes’_ after class to tell Yugi and Marik about the party. But I had, and now we were piled into Marik’s apartment, costumes thrown around.

We were the same size, so that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that most of the costumes he had were more revealing than his usual attire. The few that weren’t just looked silly. Such was the one I had on right now, a dog costume.

“At least Marik’s honest,” I mumbled, pulling the head/hood off. “This is dumb. Can’t I just wear your uniform and go as a waiter? Or better yet, I just don’t go at all.”

“You told Téa you’d go, Joey. You have to keep your word!”

“No, he doesn’t.” I swear, it was like having an angel and a devil on my shoulders. But the devil was winning out. “He has no obligation to go hang out with his ex and the ex’s new fiancée. No one in their right mind would want to do that.”

Yugi shook his head. “You two are impossible. Joey needs friends.”

“I’ve got friends. Back at home and you two.”

“I mean friends at _school_. Ones who you can study with who actually know what’s going on in your classes.”

I sighed and shook my head, moving to throw myself across Marik’s bed. I almost expected him to say something dirty, but from what I could tell, the flirtiness was just a façade. I figured it was probably a way to get tips or something.

“I’ve had a long week and a weird day. I really don’t want _this_ to be the way I make friends.”

“Why not? Right now you’re dressed as man’s best friend,” Marik said, and I didn’t lift my head up, just waved my hand around to try and hit him.

I’m pretty sure I missed. “I know who to ask. Marik, can I use your computer.”

“I should say no because you tried to hit me, but go ahead.”

I went over to his desk (or was it a vanity? It had a mix of books, papers, and makeup and hair stuff, so I guess he used it for both?) and logged into a video chat. I clicked my sister’s name, smiling a little too wide when she picked up.

“Big brother! I miss you! You never have time to talk anymo—what are you wearing?” She giggled and I took a deep breath. I knew it. I looked ridiculous.

“Wait, Joey’s on the phone?” I heard Tristan’s voice, and in a few seconds, he and Ryou were on either side of Serenity. “Woah, dude, what _are_ you wearing?”

Yugi and Marik came over to the computer, looking at the three of them.

“Oh, hello, you must be his new friends,” Ryou greeted, waving a bit.

Marik raised his eyebrows before whispering in my ear and asking if he was single. I nudged him aside. “Guys, this is Marik and Yugi,” I introduced, pointing them out separately. “And these are my old friends, Ryou, Tristan, and my sister Serenity.” I let everyone greet each other before getting to the point. “Now, I need opinions because these two can’t agree on anything.”

“Is it about the fact that you’re in a puppy suit?” Ryou asked.

“Well. Yes. I might be going to a costume party on campus.”

“Which I think he should just not go to,” Marik added.

“But I think he should because he told someone he would.”

“That someone is his ex’s fiancée, he does not need to keep that promise.”

“ _What_?”

“ _Fiancée_?”

“ _Duke_?”

I elbowed Marik in the ribs, though if I thought about it, it was my own fault. I should have told the three of them what happened before, but I didn’t want to deal with it. Now, I had no choice.

“Yes, well, Duke’s engaged, and his fiancée, I don’t know. Maybe she doesn’t know I dated him, maybe she doesn’t care, maybe she thinks I’m no threat if we’re friends… I really don’t know, but she’s actually pretty nice and invited me.”

“Don’t do it, man. Just focus on your studies and keep away from that prick and his friends.”

“Tristan, if he told her he’d go, then he has to. It’s quite rude not to.”

I should have known Tristan and Ryou would tie up the vote again. I looked straight at my sister. “Serenity, what do you think?”

She tilted her head, giving me a sympathetic smile. “I think you should go. If you decide after that you don’t want to be her friend, that’s understandable. But it’s not wrong to give her a chance.”

I nodded. “Alright.” I knew when I dialed her, I’d take whatever advice she gave me. “Thank you, sis. Now, as for the next question… Do I look ridiculous?”

“No, I like it.”

“You look adorable.”

“Yes.”

Marik was still nodding along with Tristan, but I pushed him aside. Dog costume it was.

* * *

It took me a few minutes once I arrived at the dorm building to actually enter the common room. It was then that I realized – I was a total idiot.

The room was full of a good number of students. None of which were in a costume.

I looked even more ridiculous than I thought I did back at Marik’s.

People were giggling at me and I grit my teeth. I would not blow up at them. I would be doing the same, if I went to a party where everyone was dressed in casual clothes and some weirdo showed up in a dog costume. But I was the weirdo, and I was _pissed_.

I made my way through the crowd to find Rebecca, who I found standing in a group of girls. They almost all laughed or spit out their drinks when I came into the circle. Téa’s eyes were wide and her mouth dropped.

“Joey, what—”

“Hey, Rebecca, right? Thanks for the tip on the costume thing,” I said pointedly.

Téa glared at the blonde, who giggled. “I didn’t think you’d take me seriously. Or show up like _that_!”

“Rebecca,” Téa gritted through her teeth. Maybe she wasn’t so bad. Maybe.

“It was a joke! Come on, it’s funny.” Rebecca motioned to the other girls. Half were still laughing, but a couple looked at me as though they were suffering from secondhand embarrassment.

I nodded. “Yep. Pretty funny. Now, I’ll be taking this,” I grabbed a bottle of liquor, not quite sure what it was. I didn’t drink; addiction ran in my blood and I avoided trying to trigger the gene if I could. I didn’t know if I’d even be drinking this, or taking it just for spite. “And going back to my own dorm. Have a good weekend.”

“Joey, wait,” I heard Téa’s voice as I left, not wanting to turn back around. I took a swig of the drink; it burned but oh well. I was on my way out when I bumped into someone. Literally.

“Holy shit, Joey? What are you wearing?” Figures. Let’s just add Duke into this equation.

“I was told it was a costume party. My bad for listening,” I said with a glare back to the girls. Téa seemed to be chewing Rebecca out. Good.

“Let me guess. Rebecca.” He sounded unamused.

I nodded and tilted my head. “So I’m gonna just go.”

He shook his head and took the bottle from me. “You don’t drink. Don’t start now. Come on, let’s go find somewhere quiet.”

“Why?” I asked, but I ended up following him anyway. We walked out of the common room to the main lounge.

“Because I should have talked to you a while ago.”

“Oh.” I awkwardly sat down on the couch and he sat on the coffee table in front of it. “So…?”

He sighed and looked at me. “I should have told you about Téa.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

“I was just scared, and the reunion really did happen fast. We were together before I met you and I knew my family wanted me to marry her and I got scared and ended it, but then when we met up again... I know, there’s no excuse, but I didn’t think you’d be _here_ so I was going to wait until I was back by Domino before telling you.”

I didn’t say anything, waiting for him to go on.

“This is not what I thought it’d be.”

“Being engaged?”

He laughed. “Any of it. The engagement. Law school. Téa’s stressed as hell, and I think the fact that I could not care less about flower arrangements and seating charts is making it worse. Rebecca’s a piece of work, but she may just be the only reason I’m not drowning in school work. The professors are a lot tougher than I even realized and I don’t know. I miss not being in law school, to be honest. I miss just having fun.”

There he was again, talking about having fun. He took my hands (paws?) in his, giving a squeeze. “How are you holding up?”

I leaned in close, whispering. “I’m sitting here with my ex, wearing a dog costume. How does it seem like I’m holding up?”

He laughed and shook his head. “I missed you, Joey. I don’t think I realized how much until now.”

And just like that, god fucking dammit, my heart and stomach did that weird flippy thing, practically yelling at me to admit how much I miss him too. I didn’t want to, heaven help me, but I did, and here we were alone.

“Does she know?” Thank you, brain, for letting that come out instead of something worse.

He pursed his lips. “Yeah, she does. She didn’t, at first, but after that day, I told her. She really is a great girl; I just don’t know if it’s what I want.” He looked around, as though afraid of someone hearing. I didn’t blame him.

“What do you want then?”

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “I think you know, but I can’t exactly do that. I need someone serious.”

He needed to stop, and I needed to remind him how messed up this was, but my mouth ended up spewing, “I can be serious.”

His eyebrow raised a little higher, holding my hands up a little and looking me up and down, as though to say, “ _Really?_ ”

“I know, I look ridiculous, but come on. I’m in law school. Three months ago, you’d have thought this impossible. If you don’t want to marry Téa, I think it’s a little unfair to let her think you do, and then after we get the internships with Pegasus, your family will see how good for you I can be and –”

He was shaking his head and biting his lip, so I stopped. “Jojo, come on, be realistic. You don’t think you’re _actually_ going to qualify for a spot in his internship, do you?”

Now was my turn to raise my eyebrow at him. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re just not going to get the grades and –”

“Did I miss something here, or are we not in the same law school? The same one that’s top of the country?”

“Well yeah, but –”

“We’re in the same school, we took the same test to get in, we’re in the same classes…” I took my hands back and stood up. “I’m never going to be good enough for you, am I?”

“Jojo, come on, that’s not what I’m saying,” he pleaded and I chuckled.

“Oh, screw you, Duke. I hope Téa realizes what a mistake she’s making.” I shook my head and walked out, not even caring if the door slammed behind me. I walked to the other side of campus before breaking down, dropping onto a bench and put my face in my hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what next chapter is? Puppyshipping! Stay patient, my loyal readers. It will be up soon. It's a little shorter than the others and then 12 is shorter still, but I like where they're at. Also, I have another chaptered work I'm really excited to be starting but I'm worried about reactions, it has a prominent female OC.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter a while ago, before chapter 7 was even written. I cannot tell you how much I loved writing it or how anxiously I’ve been waiting to post. I love writing these two, whether they’re fighting or not. I have this and a little flirtier scene written out, and another one in mind. Ugh. I’ll stop rambling about my love of these two so you guys can read my writing of these two.

**Joey's POV:**

“Wheeler?”

I looked up at the voice, groaning a bit when I realized a little too late who it belonged to. There, looking at me with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk was Kaiba.

“What do you want?” I huffed out, perfectly content to get back to feeling sorry for myself.

“You’re dressed like a dog.”

I rolled my eyes. Wow, was he always that perceptive? No wonder he was top of his class, he’s a genius! No one else would have ever noticed I was dressed in a giant, embarrassing dog costume!

I bit my tongue from that sarcastic remark only for another one to slip out. “You’re dressed like a prick. What’s your point?”

He really did, you could tell just from looking at him that his pristine white suit was designer and probably custom made. Must have cost a fortune. Frankly, he looked better in a trench coat. Not that I thought about it or anything.

He let out a breath that on any normal person, could have been considered a laugh, but this was Kaiba, so clearly he wasn’t laughing at my insult.

“I just came from an important meeting with a bunch of guys who were dressed quite similarly, like pricks, as you say. So that’s my excuse. Are you going to tell me you just came back from the pound?”

I balled my fists but in the paws of the suit, it probably didn’t look as intimidating as I’d hoped. “Just fuck off, would you?”

He was quiet for a moment before he sat down next to me and put his briefcase, which I hadn’t noticed before, between us. I was about to make a retort about him not wanting to rub elbows with me when he spoke up, giving a question I wasn’t prepared to answer. “Wheeler, why are you here?”

I blinked at him for a few seconds. “You mean, like, on this bench?”

He rolled his eyes at me. What else was new? “No, not on this bench. At law school. Why’d you come here?”

I raised my eyebrows this time. “To become a lawyer…"

He rolled his eyes again. If my mom were alive and here, she’d be telling him they’d fall out if he kept that up. “Yeah, no shit.” I was a bit surprised, I didn’t think I’d be hearing my assistant professor swear in front of me. Never mind when it was just the two of us on a bench. “I mean why’d you pick _here_?”

“It’s the best in the country, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why someone would go here if they got in, which I did.”

I could tell by the look on his face that he was trying hard not to burst out with an insult. “But you don’t fit here.”

“You know what? You can go shove it up –”

He continued as if I didn’t say anything. The only indication he even heard me was his voice getting louder. “There are other law schools in the country that you’d fit in better with the people and probably excel at and be the top of your class. In case you haven’t noticed, we don’t really get street punks around here, even if they are top of their class in university.”

“—your ass. Wait, how the hell do you know that?”

“I’m one of your teachers, Wheeler, of course I know your background.” He sounded exasperated at my own stupid question, so I ignored the urge to insist he wasn’t actually my teacher. “So why’d you pick here? Somewhere with rich, snooty, stuck up, know-it-alls filling every class? And don’t give me that spiel about it being the best, I know students who have turned it down or transferred out because they knew they could handle the workload but not the environment.”

I bit my lip and looked away. I didn’t want to admit the real reason I came here to study, not to him. He had more than enough reasons to make fun of me, though he had surprisingly only mentioned the dog costume once in this interaction. So far. It was embarrassing, in reality.

“My ex goes here, alright?” I tried to say it like it didn’t matter, but I wasn’t sure why I even said it to begin with. Maybe it was the fact that said ex had just told me he’d still be with me if he didn’t think I was so stupid and I was more than a little bitter and hurt, and Kaiba being a jerk wasn’t helping matters.

There was a stretch of silence before he scoffed. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Again with the swearing. Really, a totally unprofessional teaching assistant. Sitting with a student in the middle of the night who was wearing a dog costume and swearing at him.

Actually, that description sounded unprofessional in a totally different way.

“You picked the top law school in the country to stalk your ex and try to get her back? Do you realize how pathetic, not to mention downright creepy, that is?”

I turned back to him, glaring. My hands had once again turned into puppy-paw fists. “Oh shut your fucking mouth, would you? I’m not trying to get my ex back, just show him that I’m not the loser he thought I was, and I can actually do something, and unlike him I wouldn’t be bouncing off a cushy trust fund while I did it. But half my professors hate me, he’s engaged to some girl who I’m pretty sure he cheated on me with and then may or may not have just been on the verge of cheating on _with_ me, and I’m basically a laughing stock for their prissy friends and all my classmates. So yeah, maybe I am a loser and I should probably transfer or just go home.”

I hadn’t meant to rant about it, certainly not to him of all people, but the only one I’d really told any of this to was Yugi. I didn’t want everyone back home to know how hard I was struggling and hell, Kaiba already did. But now I’d just handed him a license to mock me even more.

“Yeah, you should.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“If you’re already about to throw in the towel when your first semester is just starting, then you should absolutely go home.”

“What the fuck kind of advice is that?”

“The honest kind. If you came out here to follow your ex around and then cry like a kicked…puppy,” at this, he flicked the ear closest to him and I swatted at his hands, “when people don’t take you seriously, then yeah. You’re not cut out to be a lawyer. It’s almost a shame, guess that underdog fire in you was only good for street fights and stalking.”

He got up and grabbed his suitcase, beginning to walk away. I grinded my teeth and yelled out to him. “Don’t you _dare_ give that smug attitude like you’re so much better than me. You don’t even know what it’s like to be an underdog, you probably got everything you have because it was on a silver platter. If you were so great, why would you still kissing Pegasus’ ass instead of making it on your own? You’re just a self-centered, full of himself douchecanoe.”

The way he was gripping his briefcase handle, I knew I’d struck a nerve. Good. He really was a douchecanoe. “I’d suggest doing your research before talking out of your ass. If you did that, I’m sure you’d be ahead in more classes. Working underneath another lawyer with more experience is something you’d know you have to do in order to gain experience if you were here for the job instead of just this fairytale you made up in your head. I’m currently working under the best there is whereas you’re probably going to fail his class.”

At that, he began walking away again. What did he even mean do my research? Did he just mean looking up what he had proceeded to tell me? No, I got the feeling there was more I was supposed to know before ‘ _speaking out of my ass_ ’ as he’d said.

By the time I thought of a comeback (it wasn’t very good, it was mostly just _‘Hey, get back here, Rich Boy!’_ ) he was already out of my sights. I sighed and decided to slump back to my dorm. No use in staying out here for anyone else to see me and decide I deserved even more mocking than what had already been handed down.

I mean, all things considered, Kaiba could have made a lot more jokes about the costume than he did. He mostly just told me I was pathetic and not cut out for all this. Basically, he said what everyone else did. Rebecca in her condescending way, Téa in her _thinks she’s being helpful_ way, Duke in his _I’m going to pretend I’m being nice but really I’m passively being condescending_ way…

But when Kaiba said it, it wasn’t any of that. It felt like a challenge and honestly, more of a challenge than when I’d wanted to prove myself to anyone else. He didn’t think I should be here if I wasn’t trying? Well, fuck him, I’d try and I’d fucking excel, just like I always planned.

No one underestimates Joey Wheeler and gets away with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. We are now about halfway through the movie, but the Puppyshipping spot here was taken more from the musical (“Chip On My Shoulder” anyone?) Watch out for anymore puppy references, they’re going to be in reference to that. Come on, you had to know that from the moment I said he was in a dog costume, am I right? You all totally knew. This one and next chapter are both a little short, so I apologize. Next update should be by either Friday the 23rd, or Saturday the 24!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than the ones I’ve been writing, but I liked where I went with this one. I brought in the first glimpse of Mai in person (meaning, not just Joey watching her on a television screen) and I love it so far. I hope you guys aren’t bothered by how short it is, I think it’s just more dialogue than background. I uploaded this early because I think I'm going to be busy this weekend!

**Kaiba's POV** :

The fact that Wheeler was glaring at me in every class wasn't surprising. What was surprising was that he was back in class to even begin with. I guess he wasn't a quitter after all. Good. I wasn't wasting my breath on that one.

I looked around the room, not wanting to get into a full blown staring contest with him (once when the semester started was enough) and jotted down a few notes on different students. Ones who I knew didn't have a shot at the internships, ones I knew were desperate for it…ones who could surprise us after all.

I hadn't put Wheeler anywhere yet.

I looked up to listen to Pegasus' question, and take note of anyone who tried to answer it (though, frankly, I was getting sick of writing _Rebecca Hawkins_ every five minutes. Didn't her arms get tired? Jeez.)

"In order to create a defensive strategy, one must know how the prosecution is building their case. Makes sense, I'm sure. How can one counter something if you don't know what it is? So, who can tell me the ways a prosecution would build a case against your client?"

I jotted down the names of those who raised their hands, eyebrow raising at the fact that Wheeler was one.

"Mr. Devlin, give me one."

"They'd prove motive."

"Good. How does a defense fix that? Hm…Miss Nosaka?"

"Disprove the motive."

"How?"

"Uh…"

"Exactly! Miss Gardner."

"Introduce a new suspect?"

"Perfect! Once a jury hears a motive, it's hard to disprove the motive. It's much easier to add reasonable doubt in the form of a new suspect with a motive all their own. How else would a prosecution try to prove your client guilty? Miss Hawkins!"

"They'd prove the client had means and opportunity."

"Good. Who can tell me how to defend against that? Mr. Wheeler."

"Your client would need an alibi."

"And what makes a good alibi?"

"Witnesses, or video, something that can prove you were there."

"Perfect! Glad to see some of you aren't asleep today. The rest of you…you're running out of time to impress me. It's almost as though you _don't want_ to be my interns!"

I pursed my lips, raising my eyebrows at the crowd.

"Speaking of which, class is just about over. Please turn in your résumés to Kaiba and then you may go. They must be in by this week or you are out of luck. Not to sound like my colleague, but I don't appreciate slackers."

Some of the class giggled along with Pegasus. No doubt they all knew the obvious reference, even those who weren't actually taking Crowler. They packed up quickly, forming a queue in front of my desk (which was technically Pegasus' but since he never used it, it was mine) and handing me their résumés.

Hawkins was one of the first, skipping up to me and handing it to me like it was as sacred as a Bible, and I resisted rolling my eyes. I collected the rest, ignoring the girls who tried a little too hard to bat their eyelashes at me as if that would give them a better chance. 'Barking up the wrong tree, ladies,' I thought to myself, as Wheeler came up. Speaking of barking…

He pointedly handed me his, and I smirked at him. "Surprised there's no kibble bits."

"Oh, go fuck yourself," he mumbled, swallowing a bit too hard when he looked behind me. I could only imagine Pegasus' reaction behind me.

"Mr. Wheeler. Good work today. I hope you're not giving my assistant a hard time, though." He sounded so amused, I didn't have to turn around to figure what his facial expression probably was.

"He's the one giving me a hard time, Professor," Wheeler said, eyes narrowing when he looked back at me.

I crossed my arms, leaning forward. "It's my job, mutt," I answered. I couldn't help the fact that my smirk grew when he balled his fists and I could tell he was only holding back his return fire because Pegasus was still in earshot. He stomped off and I put the résumés into a folder. I then jotted down Wheeler under the ' _could surprise us_ ' column. We'd see by the end of the semester.

"Do you think he just woke up one day and decided, ' _I feel like being a lawyer today_ ,'?" Pegasus asked. "Come on, we have a meeting with a client in about an hour. I need to brief you."

I nodded, finishing packing up as he headed out.

"Oh, and Kaiba boy? Do remember to think with the head on your _shoulders_ when you make your recommendations."

I looked at him, glaring at his implication while he gave his own smirk at me. Working for an ass like Pegasus was _definitely_ the worst part of trying to become a lawyer in this town.

* * *

 

Mai Valentine-Magnum was a piece of work. She had this look that I guess was basically what straight men would drool over, but honestly, she just reminded me of my pain in the ass cousin.

"Your associate is sick of me already," she told Pegasus and I rolled my eyes.

"He's sick of everyone," Pegasus answered. "Back to your case."

She shrugged, completely undeterred by the fact that she was facing a murder charge. "I don't blame you, Seto. Can I call you Seto?"

"No."

"I'm not always everyone's favorite person, Seto. Little Miss Loudmouth, my ex used to call me. Total loser that one was. If I'd wanted to murder any man I'd ever slept with, it would have been him."

"Mrs. Magnum, please. Can we get serious here?"

She sighed and looked straight ahead at Pegasus. "Listen. I didn't do it. Now, I've heard you were the best of the best. I need the best of the best right now. Do you want to take on my case or not? Because I don't have time to waste on finding a competent lawyer."

He looked at her, shutting her file. "I am the best of the best. I'll take it."

If I'd had a vote, I would have vetoed, but I didn't. Mai nodded, and she and Pegasus got to talking and signing papers.

When we were on our way out of the prison, Pegasus clapped his hands together. "Well, I've just had a brilliant idea!"

"Take on a case that no one could win and ruin your spotless career record?" I asked.

"No!" He sounded like he didn't notice my sarcasm. Or didn't care. He probably just didn't care. "How ready are your recommendations for the internship?"

"I was literally just handed their résumés an hour ago," I answered flatly.

"Good! Have them ready by midnight. I have an idea of who I want anyway. I just need my trusty assistant to agree."

I looked at him like he had six heads. "You're going to…start the internships early? On _this_ case?"

"I knew you'd love the idea, Kaiba boy! I look forward to your email tonight. Ta, ta!"

I watched him in shock as he walked to his car, shaking my head.

"He's mental." He had to be; there was no other explanation for this idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys want to let me know what you think, I’m always up for responding to reviews/comments. Thank you guys for reading this far. 12 chapters so far! This is awesome. Also, I love writing how ridiculous Pegasus is in all this and how sick of him Kaiba is like 100% of the time.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t want to give away too much about this chapter, but I’m really excited for it. I’m so happy we’re up to this part of the story. There may or may not be some awesome friendship bonding in here, too.

**Joey's POV:**

Getting around campus was decently easy. People were often more focused on where they needed to be than _dilly-dallying_ as my mother used to call it. So, when you leave class to go get food, you don’t often expect to see a throng of students piled in the hallway.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked a student I recognized from Pegasus’ class but didn’t know his name.

“Pegasus took on a high-profile murder case and he’s starting his internship early.” It took me a moment for that to register. Pegasus was taking interns months earlier than usual.

“He’s already picked them?” I asked him.

“Yeah, he put them up.”

I tried waiting in the line which wasn’t even a line, but after a few impatient moments of it not moving, I ended up pushing through, getting closer to the front.

“Of course, I got it. I was probably the easiest choice he made about this,” I heard Rebecca’s voice before I saw her, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

I rolled my eyes, not caring if she saw.

“Duke! Duke, we did it! We’re both in!” Téa sounded a lot more genuinely happy and a little surprised, and I took a deep breath. The only good thing about if my name _wasn’t_ on that list was that I wouldn’t have to deal with those three in work as well as class.

I found my way where I could go close enough to read the names, seeing five in italicized black and white.

_Mahad Akmen_

_Duke Devlin_

_Téa Gardner_

_Rebecca Hawkins_

_Joseph Wheeler_

I couldn’t believe it. I was actually there. Somehow, some way, I had been in the top five of the class and won that internship, before midterms even happened. I subtly pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Ouch. Nope, this was real. Holy shit.

I maneuvered my way back out of the crowd, torn between who I should call second. First had to be Serenity, but then who. Yugi? I was pretty sure he’d be working, but he needed to know. I could tell Tristan by himself if he wasn’t with Reni when I called.

I caught a glimpse of Duke walking out of the crowd with his arm around Téa. The petty part of me (which was bigger than I’d like to admit) had a good idea.

“Hey, guys, congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Duke answered, looking a little awkward. Clearly, he hadn’t had a talk with Téa like he should have, because the diamond was still pretty evident on her finger.

“You got it, too, right?” Téa asked, a little too excited. I really should start being nicer to her.

“Wait, what?” Duke asked, glancing at Téa like she needed to be kidding or something. Rebecca looked up at me and tilted her head.

“Yeah, I did. This is going to be really fun working with you guys.” I looked at Rebecca and raised my eyebrow. “Don’t worry, I’ll avoid the dog suit in court.”

She laughed a little awkwardly. “Right, about that…”

“Don’t worry about it. See you all tomorrow.”

Rebecca and Duke both still looked uncomfortable. Good. Téa waved enthusiastically.

“Bye, Joey!”

As soon as I was out of the building, I called up my sister to tell her the good news. She was really excited for me, as I knew she would be. Sometimes I thought I didn’t deserve such a good sister. She was like an angel.

Today was Tristan’s day off, so he was there at the apartment with her when I called. She put me on speaker for me to talk to both of them.

“Alright, here, talk to Tristan. I have to go finish a paper for English. Bye, big brother. I’m so proud of you! I love you.”

“Thanks, sis. I love you, too.”

Tristan took me off speaker and there was a moment of silence before he spoke again. “Okay, she’s in her room. Did Douche Devlin get in, too?”

I let out a huff of a laugh. “Yeah.”

“Dammit.”

I laughed louder. “You’re the best.”

“I know. So how’s it going to be working with him?”

“I don’t know. Tristan, I need to tell you something…” I explained what happened with the ‘costume’ party, barring the interaction with Kaiba, and he was quiet again for a few minutes.

“That fucking bastard.” Yep, my thoughts exactly. “What an ass. When we come see you, I’m punching him in the gut.”

“If anyone’s punching him in the gut, it’s gonna be me. Wait, you’re coming to see me?”

“…Shit. That was supposed to be a surprise. When we do, pretend you’re surprised. Serenity was really excited for this.”

“Alright, deal. I’ll secretly send you the best dates for you guys to come up here.”

“Awesome. So, how many people got this thing?”

“Five.”

“Look at you go. I knew you could do it, dude.”

“Thanks, Tristan. Hey, I’ve got to go shopping. I think the dress code for working for this guy is like, prick couture, if his main associate is anything to go by.”

He laughed on the other end. “Nice. Well, I’ll let you go then. Don’t turn into too much of a prick, alright? I’d like to be able to recognize my best friend when I see him next.”

“No problem. I’ll still be Jumpin’ Joey Wheeler at the end of the day.”

“You’re a dork. I’ll text you later.”

“Bye, ya jerk.”

I hung up and bit my lip, running to go catch a bus to the nearest shopping mall. When I sat down in a free seat, I took out my phone and texted Yugi. _‘Guess what I got?’_

It only took a few moments for a response. _‘A blowjob?’_ A very non-Yugi response. A few seconds later, another one came in. _‘Sorry, Marik took my phone. What’d you get?’_

_‘Pegasus’ internship.’_

I didn’t get a response for a few more minutes, until I was getting off the bus and my phone began ringing. “Hello?”

“You got it?!”

“Hi, Yugi. I thought you were at work.”

“I am.”

“So, how are you calling?”

“Well, I went to the bathroom.”

“You didn’t need to do that just to talk to me, Yug’. I could have waited.” The line was quiet for a bit. “Atem’s there again, isn’t he?”

“…No.”

“Liar.” I rolled my eyes as I walked through the mall, looking for a place with affordable suits. “You can’t keep running from him. He’s going to think you’re not interested. Not to mention, that’s totally unprofessional.”

“I see your point, but imagine this: I stay in here for the rest of my life and never face him again ever.”

“Clearly the best way to go about things. Listen, Yug’, as much as I want to tell you how ridiculous you’re being, I have to make sure I have clothes that look really professional for this internship. I’ll talk to you again, soon.”

 _“Alright, Yugi, he’s gone. You can come out now,”_ I heard in the background. Marik’s voice. _“Tell Joey I say hi and congrats.”_

“Joey, Marik –”

“Yeah, I heard. Tell him thanks.”

“Alright, goodbye and good luck.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

The next day, I didn’t have class, but I had the internship. I was fiddling with a tie in the mirror when I heard a knock at my door.

I was surprised to see a very nervous but professional looking Téa when I opened it. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Oh, you’re not ready, either. I wanted to go get coffee with someone before the internship, but Rebecca left early and Duke’s not ready yet…”

I gave her a crooked smile. “Come on in. I’ll be ready once I figure out this thing, and then I’d love coffee.”

She looked relieved and came in, sitting on my bed. “Where’s your roommate?”

I shut the door and glanced at the basically pristine bed across from mine. “He’s got a girlfriend down the hall. He’s almost never here.”

“Lucky. I shouldn’t say that. Rebecca isn’t that bad.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, going back to trying to fix my tie in the mirror. “Rebecca’s your roommate?” She nodded at me in the mirror and I tilted my head. “But she left without you today?”

“Yeah…” I could tell she was trying to be nonchalant about it. “Things are weird between us,” she admitted.

I bit my lip. “Not to sound conceited, but is it…”

“Because of her trick? A little. She’s a snob. It gets tiring. I was hoping, by some miracle, she didn’t get this internship.”

I chuckled. “So you have one less place you need to see her?”

Her eyes widened, but she smiled. “That sounds so mean! No! I just mean I think her ego could get taken down a couple of notches. Maybe then she’d be nicer to people.” She stood up, standing next to me. “Need some help with that?”

I nodded. “I’ve done it before. I think I’m just nervous today.”

“Aren’t we all? Do you know the fifth intern? Mahad? I tried looking him up on social media, he doesn’t even have anything.”

“I think I’ve seen him but never talked to him.”

She nodded, fixing the tie easily. “I’m glad you got in. You seem like a good guy to work with.”

“Thanks. For that and the tie.” I smiled. Without Rebecca or Duke around her, she really was a nice person. “Come on. Let’s go get caffeinated and wonder why we’re extra jittery later.”

She laughed and nodded, grabbing her bag. “Thank god not all men take as long as Duke does. He takes longer than me.”

I laughed with her. “Trust me, I know. It’s that stupid eyeliner.”

She shook her head as we left. “I hope he doesn’t do it today. We’re basically lawyers right now. He could do without the point.”

“Have you seen the stencil yet?” I asked, and her mouth dropped.

“You’re kidding. There can’t be a stencil?”

I smirked, nodding. “Oh, yeah. There’s a stencil.”

She burst into laughter as we got on the elevator, making our way down to the main floor where the café was.

After coffee, Téa drove me to Pegasus’ so I didn’t have to take the bus. Duke’s convertible was there as well, but when we walked in, Pegasus and Kaiba weren’t there yet. Téa sat between Duke (who did have the eyeliner on) and me, and across from us were Mahad and Rebecca.

Mahad seemed a little too serious, but he was nice enough when we talked to him. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

Pegasus came in five minutes later, and sat down at the head of the table. Kaiba sat next to Mahad and Pegasus, sliding us each a folder.

“Mai Magnum, age 30, charged with murdering her very successful, very rich, twenty years her senior husband. She was found standing over his dead body, covered in his blood.”

“Found by who?” Mahad asked.

“Her stepdaughter and the pool boy.”

“Gold digger?” Duke asked, flicking through the file.

“Possibly not. She had a fortune of her own before the wedding. Some sort of cosmetic line.”

“Wait,” I interrupted. “Are we talking about Mai Valentine?”

Pegasus nodded. “Maiden name, Valentine. I guess you’ve heard of her?”

Téa gasped. “Oh my god, Valentine Cosmetics. My mom swears by her stuff.”

“She was from my neighborhood. She used to watch me and my sister.” I opened the file, shaking my head. “She could _not_ have killed anyone.”

“I’m glad you have faith, Joey boy, but we need proof further than just believing in her character,” Pegasus spoke.

“I think she did it,” Rebecca said, as if that was the be all, end all. “I mean, come on. She was twenty years younger than her husband. That’s so icky. Plus, she grew up poor. Totally wanted the money. The two biggest motives for murder are love and money.”

“Right, because clearly her successful business wasn’t making her enough. Murder’s a safer option,” I replied bitterly, and I thought I might have heard Kaiba laugh. Nah, couldn’t be. I was hearing things again.

“She’s got a point, Joey,” Duke said. “If Mai didn’t do it, who else killed him? He’s Jean-Claude Magnum, no one outside the family and staff even had access to his house.”

“I don’t know, but it wasn’t her. She works out daily. Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands. They just don’t.” The table looked at me weird for a moment before someone else spoke up again.

“My money’s on the angry ex-wife. Hell hath no fury, right?” Mahad asked.

“Vivian Wong has an airtight alibi. She was filming a movie. Dozens of cast and crew members are willing to vouch for her,” Pegasus answered.

“What about the daughter?” Téa asked.

“Trust fund baby. She didn’t need the inheritance; it’d be hard to prove a motive for her,” Kaiba spoke up for the first time.

“But Mai didn’t need the money either,” Mahad pointed out. “So what are they saying her motive is?”

“Rebecca’s already said it. The two biggest motives, love and money.” Pegasus shrugged. “They say she was having an affair.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I cut in.

“Whether we believe it or not isn’t the point. We must prove her innocent and that’s that. Take those folders, study them, come up with ideas to do this. Tomorrow, we have a meeting with her. I expect you all in tip top shape.” He shut his folder and stood up. “Oh, and congratulations to all my wonderful interns. Welcome to the hardest part of your law school career. If you don’t believe me, feel free to ask Kaiba boy. This is the equivalent of hell. Ta, ta!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, I’ll either be bringing Mai back in for her meeting with all the interns or taking a break from the law stuff. I want to put more of the Kaiba family, Marik, Atem. Yugi and all them, and Serenity, Tristan, and the Bakuras. So, I’m gonna see how the next chapter turns out. Hope you’re all excited! Thank you for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently realized how many hits this fic has and I’m in like. Shock. About 2,800 on FF.net and about 900 on AO3. You guys are awesome, the stats of this make me so proud! Thank you so much! This next chapter took me quite a while to write, I’m sorry. Midterms season had me pulling my hair out and now I'm dealing with final papers and all! (I didn’t even get to write anything for Seto’s birthday/Halloween.)

**Joey's POV** :

The next day, we had our meeting with Mai. That in and of itself wouldn’t have been intimidating, partly due to the fact that despite her success, my memories of her were all fond, but where we were going made it so much more so.

Apparently, the judge had deemed she wasn’t too much of a flight risk, so she was given a doable bail amount. She was under strict house arrest though, ankle monitor and all, so we had to go visit her at the Magnum Manor. In a way, I was grateful we didn’t have to all go to a prison to see her, but at the same time…It was Magnum Manor.

I’d never seen any manor before, never mind enter one that had belonged to either a friend of mine or a movie star. Domino wasn’t all poor people in crappy buildings but it was completely urban – the well-off people who resided in my city usually lived in tall high-rises with views of the water that made it look almost as if the average citizen of Domino City weren’t struggling.

“This is creepy,” Duke said as we neared the front door. Pegasus ignored him and rang the doorbell. An elderly butler came to the door, took one look at Pegasus, and immediately stepped aside.

“The mistress will be with you shortly. I’ll let her know you’ve arrived.” The butler bowed and I looked around. Most of my companions looked completely at ease with the butler and I realized again how out of place I probably was.

“Does anyone else feel like we’re going to die?” Rebecca whispered and I rolled my eyes.

“I can’t believe they even let her come back here. It’s technically a crime scene still, isn’t it?” Mahad asked, looking around.

“Lifestyles of the rich and the famous,” I muttered. No one responded and I wondered if they’d even heard. I wasn’t wrong, though. When you’re rich and accused of a crime, you’re treated a lot differently than if you were poor.

“This is so creepy,” Duke repeated. “I mean, he died in this house. We could be standing in the very spot he bled out.”

“Honestly, Duke, did you even _read_ the case file?” Téa asked with a huff. “He was killed in the greenhouse.”

“Yes, and me keeping far away from that area is part of my bail,” a commanding voice spoke, and we all looked up to see Mai basically floating down the grand staircase.

She looked lovely and regal as ever. Her ankle monitor was covered by a maxi dress and you would never even know she was grieving over a late husband or facing the murder charge for killing him. The only hints you could notice were that she was in all black, and that her eyes looked like they hadn’t gotten sleep in a while, and that they were very recently crying.

“Welcome to my not so humble abode, or at least, it’s mine for now. I’m Mai Valentine and I assume you are all here to defend me in court, not get the grand tour, so we’ll just head into the dining room. Sebastian will be bringing us coffee, if you’d like tea or a specialty drink, please ask him nicely.” She motioned to the butler next to her before leading us to the room adjoining the foyer. Pegasus asked Sebastian for tea and Téa asked for soy milk in hers (I’d learned from our trip to get coffee that she was lactose intolerant) but the rest of us followed along silently.

We all sat down around the table, but before I could, Mai grabbed my arm. “I know you.” She said it as a statement, but her eyes were questioning.

“Joey Wheeler,” I answered with a smile. “From –”

“Domino. Holy crap. I never thought you’d become one of my lawyers. We’ll catch up one day, alright?” She hugged me before dragging my arm, sitting at the edge of the table but leaving the head seat open, and pushing me into the chair next to her.

Téa sat down next to me and a moment later, Sebastian came back with the tray. As he handed out the coffees, I noticed with distaste that Duke didn’t thank him until Téa elbowed him in the side.

I was really glad I befriended this girl after all.

When we were all situated, Pegasus had Mai go through the story of what happened when she found her husband’s body.

“Where were you when he died?”

“Not here.”

“Okay, but where were you?”

“Out.”

“Can anyone confirm you were out?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“The people who I saw when I was out.”

“Who were they?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Where were you?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Was there video proof of you being there?”

“Yes.”

“So, where were you?”

“I’m not telling you.”

Pegasus sighed and sat down across from Mai, putting his head in his hands. “So, you have an alibi and you’re still refusing to give it to me.”

“Yes, exactly.”

I almost felt bad for Pegasus and almost found it funny. “Why?”

“Because I just can’t tell you. Can’t you just win without it?”

“It’d be a lot easier with it. But fine, whatever. Rebecca, what’s the next step to proving a client innocent?”

“Dismantle the motive and introduce a new suspect.”

“Good. Now, Mai. They’re saying you had an affair.”

“Lies.”

“Great. Do you have proof?” Duke asked.

“How does one give proof that they _didn’t_ sleep with someone?” Mahad asked.

“Ask Duke, he’s an expert on that.” The words left my mouth before I could think them through, and I cleared my throat when everyone looked at me. “Never mind,” I mumbled, glancing awkwardly at Téa.

Pegasus ignored us, looking back at Mai. “The jury is going to wonder why you were with a man so much older than you,” he added.

“Show them a picture of his dick, that ought to clear things up.”

My eyes widened, hiding a laugh behind my hand. Mahad’s eyes widened and he looked down at the file in his hands to hide it and Téa was giggling into her coffee mug. Kaiba had rolled his eyes and Pegasus pretended he didn’t hear her. Duke had made a face but Rebecca was eagerly typing into her phone.

“Ninja Warrior Part Three,” she said, and all eyes turned to her. She looked up at us and shrugged. “There was a full-frontal nudity scene. In case we were actually going to—”

“We are not showing the jury pictures of the victim’s genitals,” Kaiba answered in a deadpan voice. “Or a video,” he continued when she opened her mouth again.

Mai had a smirk on her face while Téa and I continued to try not to giggle too loud.

Rebecca shrugged. “Well, would anyone here like to see?” She looked at me and Téa, knowing by now that we were both into guys.

“I’ve seen it, thanks,” I said with a small laugh, looking over at Mai who winked.

“Me too, actually,” Téa admitted, blushing.

“Seriously, you two?” Duke asked, scrunching up his nose. “He was fifty! He was old!”

“Technically, when that one came out, he was only forty-five,” Téa defended.

“Yeah, and you wish you’d look even half that good at fifty,” I added.

Duke looked affronted but before he could reply, Kaiba cleared his throat. “Are you all finished? We do have a task at hand here.”

“Oh, relax, hon, they’re all just having a little fun. Lighten up,” Mai responded.

“My interns are supposed to be helping you beat a murder charge, not discussing how attractive they found your late husband,” Pegasus added, shrugging. “Though, he was one of the finer men of our age. Anyway, the prosecution will be trying to prove you had an affair.”

“Which, if they saw that picture, they would know was unnecessary.” Mai said with a shrug, leaning back in her chair.

“Wait, don’t all rich people have like, security cameras everywhere?”

“We’ve already checked, there’s none in the garden,” Kaiba answered.

“Well, what about the driveways? If you see Mai leaving at one time and coming back at another, showing her not being there when he was killed…” I trailed off with a wave of my hand. If I expected Kaiba to be impressed, I was mistaken. But someone else was.

“Well done, Joey boy. Mrs. Magnum, have your people send me that footage. My interns and I have to go, we’ve got class.”

Mai stood up, pulling me into another hug before saying goodbye to the rest of the interns. “Remember to relax a little, Kaiba. Maybe you should be the one having an affair to loosen you up a little,” she whispered to him, loud enough for me to hear next to them but not the whole room. I laughed and she winked at me with a smirk, Kaiba glaring. I got the odd feeling that it was more than just a typical Mai wink though, but I tried not to think about it.

We filed out of the house, piling into Pegasus’ limo as it took us back to campus. “Good idea, Joey,” Rebecca said once we got in. “I can’t believe none of us thought of that yet.”

“Thank you,” I replied with a smile. “Hopefully it helps.”

“In case it doesn’t, I want you all to talk to other people,” Pegasus said. “Rebecca, you and Duke talk to Mr. Magnum’s daughter, see if she wavers on her story. Mahad and Téa, you two take Vivian Wong. Kaiba, take Joey and go see the pool boy. It’s almost too convenient that someone who should be working in the pool house found her in the greenhouse. I’ll give you dates and times when I can.”

We nodded and I let out a low groan at being paired with Kaiba. Téa, who’d sat next to me, squeezed my arm, probably bummed herself that she was paired with the intern she didn’t really know. Kaiba and I glared at each other but my attention was pulled away by my phone, sighing when I read it.

The day before, Tristan had called me giving me amazing news, that he was ready to propose to Serenity. Long story short, he’d called to make sure I wouldn’t be bothered due to my failed relationship, and I’d told him he was ridiculous for even thinking so.

I knew he still had planning to do for the proposal, but I still kept expecting every text and phone call to be him telling me he was ready or her telling me she’d said yes.

All it was this time was him letting me know when they’d be visiting.

“Ooh, who’s Tristan?” the ever-nosy Rebecca asked, looking over at my phone. I hadn’t even noticed her snooping. She was too short to be noticed. “Is that your boyfriend?”

“Wait, you got a boyfriend without telling me?” Téa asked, looking a little hurt.

I rolled my eyes a little. “He’s my best friend from home, he’s not my boyfriend. He’s actually with my sister, I’m waiting to see when he proposes.”

Téa’s hurt expression gave way for an excited smile. “Ah! That’s amazing! I love weddings. Well, ones I don’t have to plan,” she joked.

I briefly remembered the conversation I’d had with Duke about how he didn’t do any helping for planning his wedding to Téa, and everything else he’d said that night, and I felt a lump in my throat. I looked over at Duke, expecting some look of embarrassment or something as though he remembered, too, but instead he made a face.

“Really? I hope she says no, I mean. He’s a _mechanic_.”

I glared. If I’d been a worse person, I probably would have told Téa up front everything he’d said right then and there, but I wasn’t. “He’s a mechanic who’s more than twice the man you’ll ever be, you insufferable cuntbucket.”

“You always have such eloquent insults,” Kaiba answered from across the seat, looking at his phone. My face heated up, remembering how I’d called him a douchecanoe. I don’t know where these insults came from, but at least they were unique.

Mahad changed the subject to something neutral, the reading we had to do, and the tension in the car eased up. Pegasus even complimented all of us for keeping up with the homework as well as the internship, even though it hadn’t been long at all. We discussed the case in the reading and apparently, that was sufficient because when we got to class, Pegasus didn’t call on any of us, instead embarrassing a few other students who probably figured we would be the ones he called on and hadn’t done the homework.

I was getting ready for bed when my phone buzzed on the charger. I smiled wide at the message from Tristan. It had a date, a plan, and a picture of a ring.

‘ _Ready as I’ll ever be_ ,’ he signed at the end.

‘ _Good luck, bro!_ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone notice that twice in one chapter, Kaiba interrupted Duke and Joey before Duke could insult him? I didn’t mean for it to happen, but then it did, and I love it. This chapter was supposed to be a break from law school and focused on Tristan and Serenity but it didn’t make as much sense here as I thought so I decided to make it a spinoff one shot. If you’d like to read it, it’s called Be Mine and I’ll be publishing it soon (hopefully). Thank you guys for being patient, and if you like Puppyshipping/the Kaiba dynamic/don’t mind reading about an OC, I have another fic I recently started called Super Rich Kids and I’d like to see how you all think of that.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This next chapter has some really cool Polar-bonding which was really fun to write (including Mai’s alibi and girl talk over a certain blue-eyed lawyer). I had a lot of fun writing and didn't want to stop!

**Joey's POV** :

Walking up to Magnum Manor was even more intimidating by myself than it had been with my boss and colleagues surrounding me. I hadn’t exactly been invited this time around, but I knew the person I was going to see was going to be home. House arrest was basically made that a sure thing. I had to talk myself into and out of ringing the bell at least five times, finally closing my eyes tight as my hand lifted to get it over with.

Not even thirty seconds later, the door was pulled open. I opened my eyes at the sound, expecting to greet Sebastian the Butler, but instead found myself facing Mai herself.

“It’s about time. Watching you awkwardly stand there was starting to get dreadfully boring.”

I grinned sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I know you weren’t expecting me but…” But what? I wasn’t even sure. I’d just missed her and felt bad that she was stuck here.

“It’s fine. Come on in, Joey.” She moved aside for me to enter, closing and locking the door when I did. “Does Pegasus have something he needs from me, or is this more of a social call? I already had Sebastian bring him the tapes from that day, all day just to be sure.”

I’d actually momentarily forgotten I worked for her lawyer. “Social, actually. That’s good, though. Did they prove you’re innocent?”

She shrugged, walking towards a door. “I don’t know. I didn’t watch them, I just packed them up and sent him off.” She turned toward me with a cock of her head. “You honestly believe I’m innocent, don’t you?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

She smiled, a real smile that I hadn’t seen on her yet. “Thank you. I think you might be the only one on my legal team who does.” She opened the door, gesturing for me to follow her into a beautiful sitting room. I sat down on the chair she motioned to and she sat in the one next to me.

“Don’t worry about all of them. Duke’s an idiot, Pegasus cares about the case most of all, Kaiba’s a jerk. I think Téa believes you, too, though. She’s pretty nice.”

She nodded, picking up a tablet from the coffee table. I glanced at it and saw a view of the outside of the house and figured it must be the security camera she’d watched me on.

“What about the other two?”

I shrugged. “Rebecca’s a bit of a snob. I don’t know Mahad well, I couldn’t even tell you he was in my class before we got these internships.”

She shrugged and leaned back.

“We’re going to win this, Mai. Pegasus is the best there is.”

“He better be, for what I’m paying him.” She looked over at me, eyes sparkling a little. “Enough about my depressing life, what’s going on in yours? Hopefully it’s not as depressing.”

I bit my lip. In my eyes, my life had been pretty sucky lately, but how could I complain to a woman who lost her husband and was being accused of being the one to kill him?

“Hey, I don’t care what’s going on in your life. The good, the bad, the ugly. I want to hear everything. How’s your sister? How’d you get here? What’s going on in your love life?”

I don’t know how long I ended up talking, but her encouragements kept me going. I caught her up on everything from when she left, how Tristan was planning to propose to Serenity, about Yugi, Atem, and Marik, and everything that had happened with Duke.

“Wow. You were right, he is an idiot. And Téa doesn’t know what he said to you that night?”

I shook my head. “She’s a good girl. I don’t know how to tell her, or if I should. I mean, how easy would it seem for me to just come off as the jealous ex if I do tell her, you know?”

Mai leaned over to rub my arm soothingly, and for a moment, I felt like I had my big sister back.

“Mai, come on. You can’t go to jail and the prosecution is going to try and make the jury see a terrible picture of you. You know how people see us, the gutter rats from Domino. Self-made success or not, you’re going to be viewed as a gold digger…”

Mai huffed, crossing her arms. “I’m not and it’ll just have to be up to Pegasus to make them realize that.”

Pegasus was a genius, but I didn’t think he was a miracle worker. You can’t make people see through their prejudices, at least not easily, and a few hours a day for the duration of a trial wasn’t enough time to know Mai.

“I don’t want to push, but you have an alibi.”

“I can’t tell it.”

“Why not? It’ll save you.”

“That’s just it, Joey! It’ll _destroy_ me!” She stood up so fast, I didn’t even see her move. She looked genuinely distressed, something I’d never seen from her before. Now I was concerned.

“Mai, I’m sorry I…I guess I just don’t see what would be so bad when it would get you out of jail…”

She took a deep breath, collapsing back into her chair. “If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else. Not Pegasus, not anyone on the team. No one.”

I looked at her for a minute before nodding. “I won’t.”

“I need you to promise.”

“I promise.”

“Swear on your life.”

I swallowed before saying something I’d never said before. “I swear on my sister’s life.”

Her eyes widened for a second. Then she nodded and sighed. “Iwzgtngbtx.” She mumbled it so quick I didn’t hear her.

“Heh?”

She clenched her eyes shut and said a little louder, “I was getting Botox.”

 My eyes widened. “What?”

She rolled her eyes. “See? This is why I can’t give my alibi. I’ll be ruined.”

“I don’t even…where?”

She pointed at her eyebrows and I looked closer. “Running a business is hard, Joey. It stresses a girl out. Add in a bratty stepdaughter and the press never leaving you and your new husband alone…Jean-Claude knew, he was the only one, and now you. No one else can. I make a living off products to make women look and feel younger so they don’t _have_ to get this stuff, and I’m a fraud.”

She looked completely miserable having just divulged that. I reached over and squeezed her hand in my own. “Hey. I told you your secret was safe with me, didn’t I?”

She gave me a grateful smile. “Thank you, Joey.” She squeezed my hand back and sighed. “Now that that’s out there, anything you want to admit to me?”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

She raised one of her own. “I mean about any handsome men you’ve been working with?”

“We already talked about Duke, and trust me, I don’t want to be with him anymore.”

“Not who I meant. I already know he’s a – what was your word?”

“Cuntbucket.”

“Yes, that.”

“Then who? Mahad? He’s not bad, but I don’t think –”

“Wrong again, Joey.”

It took me a moment to remember I worked with people other than the interns from my class. “You mean Kaiba?” I asked, eyes widening.

Mai shrugged and smirked. “Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about it.”

“He’s my boss and assistant professor and he’s such a jerk!”

“So you don’t think he’s hot?”

“That doesn’t even. I don’t even. Why would you ask.”

I knew I was losing the battle when I was flustered, unable to finish a sentence, and she just sat there smirking.

“Fine. He’s hot. But that’s about it.”

“I don’t know. He’s also smart, driven, family oriented…”

“Rude, judgmental, condescending. How do you even know he’s family oriented?”

“I do my research. Don’t you?”

I briefly remembered what I’d looked up, after Kaiba told me to not speak (“out of my ass” if I recalled correctly) without doing my research. Clearly it was normal to research him, or maybe not, but I did. I found he had two little brothers, one by birth and one was a stepbrother from his adopted father. I’d found that they all seemed to go do their own thing and none seemed to live with or depend on their father, but that was about it. Though, I could see where it would cause Mai to draw that conclusion.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

She shrugged, looking at her nails. “Alright. It doesn’t matter. So, how do you plan on getting your friend Yugi with his admirer?”

I opened my mouth to try and plan it out before my eyes narrowed. “Don’t get any funny ideas, Mai.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t.”

* * *

For the next few sessions at the internship, Pegasus gave us all the information he had on the people we were meant to be interviewing. Téa made a face on the size of the file for Vivian Wong, muttering under her breath that, “ _She’s not even a good actress_.” Mahad actually smiled at the comment before getting back down to business.

Duke and Téa got a bunch of school information and articles about Magnum’s daughter, a twenty-year-old socialite named Jasmine. “Jasmine Magnum. A little bit rhymey, isn’t it?” Rebecca asked.

“She’s kind of cute,” Duke said, flipping through her file, which earned him a glare from Téa. “Just saying.”

Kaiba and I received a dismally small one on the pool boy. “Almost nothing is known about this guy,” I complained, reading through the details. He had come from Australia and had no known family. It seemed not even Pegasus could find school records or anything of substance. All that was known was that he worked as a pool boy for some rich folks, had a small apartment in the city, and owned a motorcycle.

“So, Valon’s basically a ghost and yet no one thinks maybe he killed his boss? He could disappear without a trace and no one would be the wiser.”

Kaiba didn’t say anything in response, and it frustrated me more than it probably should have. Ever since the conversation with Mai, I’d been noticing little things about Kaiba…almost all in the realm of how attractive he is.

It’s not that I hadn’t seen it before, but he was always just such a jerk that I pushed it aside. Now, the thoughts didn’t want to be pushed aside. They wanted to dance around front and center, singing along to Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical.”

It was very inconvenient.

“The daughter is coming in later today, so I expect you two to be ready,” Pegasus told Duke and Rebecca, who nodded and began making some notes. “Vivian Wong is on a flight back from an award show in the United States, so she’s agreed to have you come by the day after tomorrow.” Téa and Mahad nodded as well, Téa looking even more uncomfortable to have to go to the woman’s house.

Pegasus then turned to us and sighed. “Unfortunately, our ghost of a pool boy, as Joey boy has already observed, has yet to return my calls about a meeting. When I know details, I’ll give them to you, Kaiba, and I expect you to get in touch with Joey and go.”

He walked away and I glanced again at the file before Kaiba closed it. Right when I was trying to read it. “Jerk,” I mumbled. No matter how attractive he was, he was still such a jerk.

“I’ll be in touch.” He stood up, grabbing the file.

“You’re taking that?” I asked. He didn’t answer, instead just giving me a look like, _duh_. “What if I wanted to read it again?”

“I’ll let you look at it before our meeting. Whenever that is.” He put the folder in his bag before snapping it shut and walking off.

I completely blamed Mai for the thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is pulling an all-nighter for homework so hard, but doing it for fics is easy? It’s 2 in the morning and I mostly just wanted to put this out because I feel so bad for not updating in a while. Hopefully this weekend I finish the oneshot for Tristan’s proposal!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Guess who's back again? This chapter was really fun to write because it has to do with my favorite mini Kaibas! (and them meeting Joey)

**Joey's POV** :

The start of the trial seemed to be sneaking up on us fast. The office became very tense, all of us trying to figure out a way to get the jury to see Mai as innocent…or at the very least, not guilty, which if you didn’t know, meant something different in law terms.

Téa and Mahad hadn’t been able to get much from the ex-wife, except that apparently, everyone agreed that Mai and Jean-Claude “humped like bunnies.” (They reported that it was a direct quote.) Afterward, Téa and I went to the diner for dinner and she’d gone on a rant about what a vile woman Vivian Wong was in person. I’d yet to hear her badmouth someone, and I didn’t know if it made me a bad person to say I enjoyed it.

(Unrelated, but Yugi had met her that day, and I don’t know which made him happier – the fact that I was becoming friends with Téa or that Téa seemed to want to be friends with him, too.)

Duke and Rebecca didn’t have any luck, either. They couldn’t catch Jasmine in a lie in her story, and even came back with her claiming Mai would disappear with said pool boy sometimes. Always the bearer of good news, Duke also came into the office with other information.

“We found out what District Attorney is heading this case,” he started, before Kaiba came into the room and dropped a file on the table in the middle of us. Pegasus wasn’t there yet, and we’d come to know that meant Kaiba was in charge of all our sorry asses.

“Johnson. One of the sneakiest pieces of trash to ever hit a courtroom.”

There were audible groans from my fellow interns. “We’re screwed,” Rebecca declared.

“Wait, why are we screwed?” I asked.

“Johnson is, as Kaiba said, a sneaky, deceitful lawyer who cares about convictions more than the actual truth,” Téa started.

“He’s supposedly got this way of making everyone believe lies are the clear truth and manipulates the fact of the case to convince a jury,” Duke continued.

Rebecca nodded along. “I heard he once convinced a jury that a guy who feared water stole a boat.”

I made a face. “That doesn’t even make sense,” I said. “And if he’s going to use manipulation, we just have to make his lies blow up in his face to prove Mai didn’t do this.”

Duke gave me a look that I realized I’d seen from him a little too often. It was that _you’re so cute but so stupid_ look. “Joey. It’s certainly not that easy as it sounds. We’re basically done for. Johnson was one of Pegasus’ top students of the last _decade_.”

“Yeah, he taught Johnson everything he knows. Now we’re going up against him without any idea how to win,” Rebecca agreed. It was almost scary how those two seemed to always be on the same wavelength lately.

“Well, I think one idea on how to win would be to stop counting ourselves out before trial has even started,” I snapped. “I mean, I’m pretty sure being a good lawyer doesn’t mean just giving up when you find out a tough D.A. is your opposition.”

“I never thought I’d say it, but Wheeler’s right.”

I looked up in shock at Kaiba. “I am? I mean. ‘Course I am.”

He rolled his eyes. “If you guys are ready to give up and send your client to prison before even opening that folder to see what he has on Mai, none of you are fit to be in this office.”

Mahad, who was always so quiet compared to the rest of us, spoke up. “Besides. Just because Johnson learned everything he knows from Pegasus, doesn’t mean Pegasus taught him everything _he_ knows. There’s got to be tricks up his sleeve Johnson doesn’t know.”

“Glad more than one of you might actually have a brain,” Kaiba mumbled.

I just wanted them to stop giving up on Mai, because I would be fighting for her until the moment the jury came back. Maybe longer.

Before we could continue to talk about Johnson and the trial, Pegasus came in. He clicked a button on a remote and a screen came down from the ceiling. He then went over to the laptop, fiddling with it for about a minute before the screen came to life.

“Unfortunately, we finally got through going over the security footage outside the house. Here, you see Mai and her husband saying goodbye before she gets into the car. The car leaves, he goes inside, fast forward to a little before his death…” He did as he said, and another car, similar in shape and the same black color, pulled up into the driveway. Unfortunately, you couldn’t see who got out, because the person seemed to know where the camera was and parked so they’d get out of the driver’s seat on the opposite side.

Pegasus fast forwarded again, finding where the car left again and then kept going until Mai’s car came back and she went back into the house, her stepdaughter following a little bit after.

“Okay, but they can’t prove that it was Mai getting in and out of that other car,” Téa pointed out.

“But we can’t prove it wasn’t, either,” Kaiba said. He glared at me, probably because it was my idea to check the tapes.

“We could if she gave her alibi,” Rebecca said with a sigh. “If she’s even got one.”

“She does, and it’s a good one.” I wanted to bite my tongue off the moment the words left my mouth. All eyes turned to me.

“You know it?” Mahad asked and I slowly nodded. No use lying to them now.

“Well?” Pegasus asked and I stared at him.

I heard Kaiba huff and I looked at him. “What’s the alibi, Wheeler?”

“I can’t tell you guys that.”

He looked like I just told him the sky was neon green. “Why the hell not?”

“I swore I wouldn’t.”

Pegasus cleared his throat. “You went to our client without telling anyone, got her alibi, but now you’re saying you aren’t going to tell us?”

“Erm. Yeah.”

Duke reached over and grabbed my hand. “Joey, come on. Just give us the alibi, and then Mai goes free.”

I pulled my hand away, noting from the corner of my eye how uncomfortable Téa looked. “I’m not betraying her trust. She told me in confidence. We can prove her innocent some other way. Does the tape tell us anything at all?”

“I mean, it narrows down the pool of other suspects, though,” Téa said, not commenting on the subject of the alibi at all. “They clearly knew where the security cameras were in the front of the house. It had to be staff or someone close to the family.”

“Well, we’re not getting anywhere on the ex or the daughter,” Kaiba replied, still half-glaring at me. “When are we speaking to the pool boy?”

“Glad you brought that up, Kaiba boy. Our dear friend Valon seems intent on avoiding my calls at all cost, to the point where he’s either blocked my numbers or changed his altogether.”

“Sounds pretty fishy,” Rebecca agreed.

“Lucky for us, his address isn’t so easily changed,” Pegasus said with a smirk.

* * *

“Can we at least get something to eat first?” I tried not to whine, but I was hungry. Not that Kaiba was the kind of guy who seemed to care, but seeing as he was my partner in this, and the one who had the car, I needed to ask.

“No.”

“Kaiba.”

“No. We can grab something on the way. I have to stop home and we can’t afford to waste any extra time.”

He took his keys out of his pocket and a sleek black car beeped to life.

“ _That’s_ your car?” I asked, a little embarrassed at the obviously impressed tone of my voice.

“Yes, and I have rules.”

“Of course you do.”

“No shoes on the seat, do not touch the radio dial, do not fiddle with the heat or cooling systems, no eating, no drinking, no opening the window without permission, no backseat or passenger seat driving, no being obnoxious, no –”

I rolled my eyes at his extensive list of rules, reminding me scarily of Duke’s rules in his dumb car. “No blinking, no breathing, no living, no speaking, yeah, I got it,” I replied sarcastically as we neared the car.

He glared, getting in and I followed suit. “Any questions, Wheeler?” he asked, but I got the feeling he didn’t care and wouldn’t answer if I did.

“Yeah, just one.” I smiled dopily. “How are we ‘getting something on the way’ if there’s no food or drink allowed in the car?”

He didn’t answer, as I assumed. Instead he buckled his seatbelt and took off before I had a chance to even do mine.

The ride was silent, and I decided to just take in the different neighborhoods we drove through. I’d learned in my research that the Kaiba family had a mansion, but neither him or his brothers lived there, so I wondered what kind of place Kaiba actually had. He finally pulled up to a very normal looking house, the kind I’d always passed on my way to school as a kid and wished I’d lived in.

“Stay.”

I looked over at him incredulously. “You’re not seriously leaving me out here?”

“I’ll be five minutes, Wheeler. I don’t want you in my home. Who knows if you’re even house trained yet.”

“Quit it with the damn dog insults, Kaiba. But fine, if you’d rather me be out here all alone with your precious perfect car…”

He seemed to think it over a bit, jaw locked. “Fine. Get out.”

We got out of the car and he pushed the button to lock it again before walking up to the house. He opened the first door, a grand looking one with a design on the window, and I noticed two other doors, one on top of a flight of stairs that he headed to, and realized this was a two-family house.

I waited for him to open the second door, and when I stepped in, I looked around. It looked homier than I’d imagined Kaiba’s place would, but then I remembered he didn’t live here alone. I briefly wondered about his brothers, and then found myself wondering about if he ever brought anyone else up here, and then I thought about killing Mai because the fact that I was thinking about it like that was probably completely her fault.

“Take your shoes off and don’t touch anything.”

I rolled my eyes. Again with the commands. “Yes, Master,” I mumbled sarcastically under my breath, expecting him not to hear me.

Unfortunately, I got the feeling that he did, because he stared at me for a second in an uncomfortable silence before, “Shoes.”

 I cleared my throat and began taking my shoes off before I heard footsteps walking towards us. “Hey, Seto, you’re home early. We didn’t expect you for din—oh.”

A tall boy with long black hair and a childlike face stopped short when he noticed me. He looked curiously between me and Kaiba and raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t realize you had company. Should Noah and I leave you two alo—”

Kaiba rolled his eyes and shook his head, and my face heated up a little at the insinuation. “Mokuba, this is one of my interns. I needed to get some stuff from my room before we went to go do fact checking.”

The kid, Mokuba, looked me up and down and nodded as Kaiba left the room and walked down the hall. “I see. Nice to meet you, I’m Mokuba. Seto’s brother. You probably figured that out.”

“Joey,” I introduced with a smile, looking up when a slightly shorter boy with teal hair came in from what looked like the kitchen.

“Hey, pizza’s ready. Who’s this?”

My stomach grumbled at the thought of pizza, as Mokuba introduced me. “Noah, this is Joey. He works for Seto.”

“Technically, I work for Pegasus,” I objected.

“Eh, same thing,” Mokuba shrugged.

Noah tilted his head. “You hungry? We always make the pizzas big. Even when Seto’s here, there’s leftover.” He ushered me into the kitchen, where the smell of pizza started taking hold of my senses.

“Oh, I don’t want to take your food,” I insisted. As hungry as I was, I knew I wasn’t exactly an invited guest.

“It’s fine, Noah’s got a thing for feeding the stray puppies of the neighborhood.”

I growled, turning to glare at Kaiba, who walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. “Didn’t you have to get something from your room?”

He pointed to the file that I didn’t notice he’d put on the kitchen island before grabbing a plate and a slice of pizza. Noah gave me a plate of two before he and Mokuba each took their own, and Mokuba placed a water in front of me, as well.

It all seemed a little too _normal_ for Kaiba, to be leaning against a kitchen counter eating a homemade pizza while his brothers sat on the island and chatted. It was simultaneously unsettling and relaxing, all at once. I wondered if he was usually as quiet as he was now, or if he typically joined in their conversation but was holding back because I was here.

I was halfway done my second slice when I noticed Mokuba trying to sneak a peek at the file. I took it from his hands, holding it closed and good naturedly hitting him on top of the head with it. Noah snorted and I smirked as Mokuba pouted. “Can’t blame a kid for being curious. This case is all over the news.”

“Then you’ll hear the details on the news,” I countered.

“Or in court. Are we allowed in, Seto?” Noah asked.

“I’ll see what your grades are, first,” Kaiba answered, putting his plate in the sink and leaving the kitchen. “Don’t wait up.”

The two younger Kaibas gave each other a look and I got the feeling I knew what they were thinking. I put down the crusts, wiping my hands on a napkin and getting up to throw my stuff out when I heard one of them mutter, “I wonder if the file’s the only thing he got from his room.”

I choked on the water in my mouth, turning to glare at the two smirking boys, but before I could, I heard a call from the foyer. “Wheeler, come.”

My face heated up more at the snickering from Kaiba’s brothers and I glared harder, stomping out of the kitchen. “Cut it with the damn commands, I’m not your fucking dog,” I practically yelled, poking him in the chest before getting my shoes on. He was silent as we walked down to the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren’t Mokie and Noah little shits? I love them. I need to write them in Super Rich Kids, too, but I got the bug back for this and found some time so I banged out a couple of chapters. I’m going to work on the next one, too, but not post it until I update some of my other fics.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains a slur (that f word used to insult gay men). So I’m sorry but there’s the warning! It’s about halfway through the third page, if that helps at all. This chapter finally introduces Valon and Alister because they’re like, never in Puppyshipping fics and I think they should be.

**Joey's POV** :

The ride to find Valon was a quiet one, and it took longer than I’d thought it would. I reread the bits of information on him at least twice, and daydreamed for a bit while staring out the window. The only noise was the occasional direction from the navigation system telling Kaiba where to turn.

“Your brothers seem nice.” I couldn’t stand silence. No silence was comfortable for me. I always ended up being the one to break it.

“They’re good kids.” Then there was Kaiba, who seemed to prefer if I didn’t talk at all. He could make a simple sentence of three words sound suspiciously like, ‘ _Shut up, Wheeler_.’

“Are you gay?”

If Kaiba wasn’t always so self-composed, I think he might have stopped short at my brass question. Instead, all I got was a narrowed side-eye.

“What business is that of yours?”

I shrugged, trying to play like I wasn’t curious, despite asking. “I don’t know. Your brothers seemed to be implying something back there.”

“My brothers are nosy little shits.”

“You just said they were good kids.”

“They can be both.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“I think when your brothers are somehow under the impression that I’ve been getting under you, it is my business,” I muttered.

“If you really want to discuss private lives, I could easily be asking if you working with your ex and his fiancée is a conflict of interest.”

I shut my mouth like that, looking back out the window. “Caught on to that, have you?” I asked quietly.

There was a pause before, “Doesn’t really take a genius, given how you two act.”

Flashes from the night of the party and before at the office entered my mind and I balled my fist, grimacing. Téa really did deserve better but I hated not being able to tell her that. I opened the file again, not even reading anything, just staring at the words.

He still didn’t answer my question, but I really didn’t want to go into any detail about my life, and I knew spitting out any information about my ex that night of the party would come back and bite me in the ass.

“We’re here.” I looked up and raised my eyebrows. We seemed to be in a parking lot on a beach, a row of houses lining the shore. I didn’t need to read the numbers to figure which one was Valon’s, his yellow motorcycle was parked in the driveway. We walked up the block to it. “Could he be any tackier?”

“You don’t like motorcycles, Kaiba?” I asked. “Probably because you can’t drive one.” I snorted as we walked up to the door.

“Actually, I can,” he answered, knocking on the door.

“Heh? Really?” I asked. He didn’t seem like the type. Fast sports car, maybe, but not a motorcycle.

Before he could answer again (if he was even planning to), the door opened up and Valon answered. “Can I help ya?”

“Seto Kaiba, Joey Wheeler,” Kaiba answered, pointing to each of us. “We’re here to talk about your involvement with the Magnum family.”

“Ah, well, I’m not talking the press. Sorry.” Valon smiled and moved to close the door, but Kaiba stopped it with his foot.

“Then it’s a good thing we don’t work for the press.”

Valon looked him up and down. “Pegasus, eh?” When Kaiba nodded, he rolled his eyes and opened the door. “That’s one insistent fellow.”

“Yeah, he is, and you’re insistent on staying off his radar. Wonder why,” I responded as we walked into the apartment.

“Because I already gave my statements to cops, lawyers, and everyone else who needed to know. No need to have his goons show up at my place of residence.”

“We’re not goons, we’re lawyers,” I said.

He looked me up and down and scoffed. “Yeah, and I’m a prince.”

I narrowed my eyes but before I could say anything, Kaiba spoke up. “If you’d answered any of our other attempts to contact you, we wouldn’t be here.”

Valon seemed to consider this. “Sit down then. Might as well get this over with.” He sat across from Kaiba at the kitchen table, who was beginning to go over his story with him. I took a look around the apartment, noticing two closed doors and living room. It looked like he lived alone, and very minimally. There weren’t even any pictures up in the living room.

I looked at the counter, quietly moving behind Valon to look at some of the papers and the one framed picture. It was him and another guy, they seemed to be embracing and leaning against another motorcycle, a reddish orange one. I shuffled through the papers, reading the names on the mail.

“Who’s Alister?” I asked, interrupting the conversation between the two brunets.

“My roommate,” Valon answered.

“Ah. You know, I’ve got a roommate at home.” I picked up the picture, holding it up for Kaiba to see. He raised his eyebrows but I got the feeling he knew where I was going with it. “We’re not this close.”

“Put that down. I let you in as a courtesy.” Valon stood up and snatched the picture from me, putting it face down.

“You know, something tells me you’re lying. Plus, I know Mai, and I know you’ve never slept with her in your life.”

“Yeah, why’s that, Wheeler?”

“You’re not her type.”

“Because I’m not rich? Sometimes girls need more than money, you know.”

I made a face. “Nah, I knew her way before she even knew any rich guys. But she’s always gone for guys that are…” I looked him up and down. “More manly.”

A fire lit in his eyes. “You want to take this outside and see who’s manly, you little –”

“Alright, enough.” Kaiba stepped between us, putting his hand on my shoulder. I wouldn’t have even cared if he hadn’t, I was squared up for a fight. “I think we have what we need. Just know, Valon, if you lie on that stand, we will destroy you. See you in court. We’ll see ourselves out.”

He began to leave and I reluctantly followed suit. When we got to the door, I turned to Valon, who was still fuming but following us to make sure we really left. “Give your best to your boyfriend from us,” I said with a wink.

“I ain’t no fag!”

When we were out the door, I winced at the slur before following Kaiba down the stairs. “Why didn’t you just let me punch that asshole’s face in?”

“Because did it ever occur to you that doing that could be called witness tampering?”

I bit my lip. To be honest, it hadn’t. “Okay, fine. Thanks for stopping me then. But we got something. He couldn’t be sleeping with Mai. He’s gay!” Kaiba opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. “Listen. There was only one bedroom in that apartment, and he seemed way too homophobic to be a straight guy casually sharing a room with another guy and getting that close in pictures. He’s an in the closet, self-hating homosexual.”

“If your gaydar is so great, why’d you need to ask me?”

I opened my mouth and shut it again. “I didn’t want to assume.”

“But you’re fine doing it with our case? Maybe he does have a partner. If he’s as self-hating as you think, fucking a beautiful woman could be just the thing to make him seem straight. Or he’s into both and not into being faithful. Ever think of that?”

I knew if I said I hadn’t, I’d get his smug look, so I kept quiet. A motorcycle came down the block and turned into the driveway, so I grabbed Kaiba’s arm and pulled him out of the way. I noticed when it stopped it was the same one from the picture.

I was expecting the guy to be suspicious of the two men lurking outside his house, but the look he gave Kaiba when he took off his helmet was of pure hatred. The brunet beside me gave a snort. “Should have figured.”

“What the fuck are you doing outside my house, Kaiba?”

“You two know each other?”

“Just questioning your uh, what was it he called him, Wheeler?”

“Eh, I believe it was _roommate_?”

“Right. That.” Kaiba smirked at the grit teeth look that Alister gave him before walking off.

I awkwardly stood behind. “I…look, we know he’s lying about sleeping with Mai, and –”

“Valon’s not lying about anything.”

“Yeah? So, you’re sticking around even though you’ve been cheated on with his boss?”

I knew I struck a nerve. “Listen here, I –”

I shook my head. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I have a pretty good idea. It’s blatant that you two are a thing, so either your boyfriend is so far in the closet that he’s been fucking around or he’s lying for some reason to get Mai Valentine put in jail, possibly because he killed her husband or because he’s protecting whoever did. As someone who’s dealt with the former, let me tell you, sticking by him isn’t going to make him want to be out and proud with you. You deserve better.”

Alister looked at his feet before looking back at me. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Valon didn’t hurt anyone or lie, and I think before you try lecturing me on who I keep company with, you should evaluate the jerk you’re following around like a lost puppy.”

I tried not to react, but the puppy thing made me ball my fists. I went to respond but then I heard Kaiba call from the corner. “Wheeler. Let’s go.”

Alister raised his eyebrows. “You really wanna lecture me on _stand by your man_ and _deserving better_?”

“We’re not…why does everyone think…” I shook my head, throwing my hands up in defeat as I walked over to where Kaiba was waiting impatiently.

“What was that about? It’s getting dark.”

“I wanted to see if I could get him to flip on Valon.”

“How were you planning on doing that?”

“I don’t know, talking to him? Relating to him?” I stopped. “What did you do to him? He hates you.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“If he didn’t hate you, maybe he could turn on Valon, testify that he isn’t sleeping with Mai, and never did.”

“None of this would even matter if you just told the damn alibi.”

“I’m not betraying her confidence like that. How does going behind your client’s back and lying to her face make a good lawyer?”

“A good lawyer would get her cleared of all charges, Wheeler!”

“You don’t even get it, probably because you’ve never had a friend in your whole life. You’re such a, such a…” I racked my mind for the right insult. “Such a butthead!”

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t my most mature or clever insult, but it seemed to sum up the situation perfectly. On top of that, the butthead in question seemed stunned, so I turned on my heel and walked towards the car.

This would have been a perfect exit, though nothing could top me pouring wine on Duke, except I forgot one little thing. This car was actually Kaiba’s. Therefore, I couldn’t get back to Tokyo, couldn’t even get into the car, until he decided it was time.

When he came back to the car, he was quiet. He unlocked it and didn’t make any of the insults or jokes at my expense I was expecting, and he waited for me to get in and buckle my seatbelt before he started the car.

He pulled out of the lot, turning onto the road. He was still silent and I was frankly, still pissed. I had my arms crossed and I stared out the window for the first few minutes of the ride.

“Did you really just call me a _butthead_ back there?”

I wasn’t expecting that to be the first thing he said on this subject. He sounded incredulous about it, not angry or condescending even.

“Yes. Yes, I did.” I shifted only slightly so I could see him out of the corner of my eye.

“No one’s called me a butthead since I was eleven,” he said. I couldn’t gauge how he felt in his tone.

I scoffed. “Maybe not to your face,” I mumbled back. I would later convince myself I imagined it, but I thought I may have seen a small smile on his lips at that.

We were silent after that, and I broke the rules of the car by touching the radio dial. I found a classic rock station and put the volume on where it wasn’t too loud. He hadn’t yelled at me yet over it, I didn’t want to push it. Even if he was still on my bad side.

A few songs played before he spoke up again. I hadn’t been expecting him to say anything, just figured we’d ignore each other and then when we got to the office he’d chew me out in front of everyone. I certainly hadn’t been expecting what came out of his mouth when it did open again.

“So, where does butthead fall on the jerk-ometer?” he asked. I turned to him in confusion, raising an eyebrow. “Is it below _douchecanoe_ or is it somehow higher?”

It didn’t even register until I was laughing that _Kaiba had just made a joke_. A funny joke, nonetheless, and I was pretty sure he’d just alleviated the tension in the car. I looked over at him and holy hell, he was actually smiling. No doubt about it this time.

“I don’t know, but it’s better than being a cuntbucket, if that helps.” I laughed again and I could swear the smile widened, remembering the insult I’d hurled at Duke. It took me a moment to calm down, but once I did, my eyes were wide as saucers. “I can’t believe it. You just made a joke. You might actually be human after all.”

He shook his head. “You’re an idiot.” But his usual venom wasn’t in it, and hints of a smile were still there.

We didn’t talk for the rest of the car ride, either, but it was a much more comfortable silence. My smile took longer than his to fade (his did as he had to swerve around a very slow Toyota in front of him, cursing about bad drivers) and I nearly forgot that he’d been a, as I had so eloquently put it, a _butthead_.

When we finally got back to campus, it was way too late to update the rest of the team, so he agreed to just drop me off at the dorms first. When he did, he pulled right up front to the door that I needed to enter, waving at a campus security car parked across the street. I was about to thank him for getting this close when he shocked me once again that evening.

“You’re right, by the way.”

That’s it. Hell froze over. “A joke _and_ you telling me I’m right in one car ride? Are you feeling alright, Kaiba?” He rolled his eyes and didn’t say anything. “Right about what?”

“Not giving up the alibi. The client’s trust is a major part of the relationship you should have with them. You care more about Mai than Pegasus does. If you can keep that up with clients you don’t know as personally as her, caring more about the client than just the case, that could be what sets you apart as a lawyer.”

It took me a moment to process his words but when I did, I couldn’t help but smile. “Wow, Kaiba. You really do have a heart.”

He rolled his eyes again, pressing the button to unlock the doors. “Get out.”

I laughed, undoing my seatbelt and getting ready to get out of the car. I stopped with the door open and winked at him. “Don’t worry, secret’s safe with me.” And with that, I was gone. I didn’t even stop to see the car pull away (though I thought maybe I hadn’t heard it leave until after I was in the dorm building.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last part of this chapter (from the “butthead” insult on to the end) was actually written like, two months ago, with only one tweak since then. I knew the “No one’s called me a butthead since the third grade” “Maybe not to your face” exchange between Elle and Emmett was going to make an appearance, so I wrote it out. I like writing the little hints of Puppyshipping, it’s my favorite part of this fic. As I guess it should be, because that’s the point of writing it. Anyway. I hope you guys liked it!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for sticking with this fic and thank you for the patience! It means a lot and I'm so glad you guys seem to be enjoying it still. The holidays had me really busy and I'll be going on vacation soon so please keep being patient and thank you again.

**Joey's POV:**

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think ‘I’ve got good gaydar’ is a true defense, either, Joey.”

I looked at Téa across the booth, wanting to bang my head into the table. “You really need to sound so much like Kaiba?”

She shrugged, picking off the pickle that was halfway out of her burger before popping it into her mouth. “I’m not saying I think you’re wrong. I’m saying we need more proof. Not that I feel all that good about possibly outing a guy on the stand…”

“Under most circumstances, neither would I, but something’s gotta give here.”

These private lunches had gotten more frequent lately. While we always invited the other interns, none of them ever came, and we always ended up discussing either the case or trying to study despite our plan being to actually _relax_ during lunch.

“From what you’re telling me, Kaiba had a point. He could be bisexual, you know. It’s not like we don’t know anyone who is.” I made a face and I guess my thoughts were readable on my face because Téa gave me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. That was a bad comparison.”

“No, it wasn’t, it was a very relevant comparison and the exact reason I tried reaching out to his boyfriend. I know that feeling and I sure as shit wouldn’t stick around given that feeling, and add in a messed up murder trial on all of it… I don’t know what’s up with that guy, but anyone deserves better than the deal he’s getting.” I ate a couple of fries before realizing Téa didn’t seem to be paying attention anymore. “Uh, Téa? You okay?” I waved my hand in front of her face and she blinked a couple of times.

“Sorry. I was just thinking about something…In hindsight, did he give off any clues that he was cheating?”

I cocked my head. “Heh? I don’t really know, why are you asking?” Téa sighed but before she could form a response, my eyes widened. “Shit. You think? With who?”

Yugi came over at that moment, giving a confused look at our facial expressions. “You guys okay?” he asked softly.

Téa shrugged, shaking her head. “Yeah, I’m probably just being paranoid. I’m sorry to involve you, Joey, I know that’s probably weird.” She took a bite from her burger and I stayed quiet. I really didn’t know what to say.

The door opened and Yugi let out a little squeak. “Speaking of weird,” I joked, and Téa laughed a little. I didn’t have to look to know Atem had walked in, and chances are, she didn’t either.

He came over, giving us all a greeting before starting an awkward conversation with Yugi. Téa and I pretended not to be eavesdropping but I don’t know if we succeeded. The good news was that they were both too wrapped up to notice us anymore.

“So, are you working Friday?” Atem asked.

“No, I’m not, sorry. I guess that’s the next delivery?”

“Uh, actually, no. I’m not working, either.”

“Oh, okay. That’s cool then, that you get the day off…”

There was some awkward silence and Téa looked as visibly uncomfortable as I did. I was sure one of us was about to jump up and yell, “ _Yugi, he’s asking you out!_ ” but we both held our tongue. The secondhand embarrassment was real.

“Okay, so, I guess I’ll go then.”

“Right, sorry, no need to hold up your other deliveries.” Yugi nodded, and Atem said goodbye to everyone, waving as he passed Marik who’d just entered the diner on his way to his own shift

“Yugi, you’re a little oblivious,” I stated.

“What?”

“He was asking you out. Or very awkwardly trying to, anyway,” Téa explained.

“What? No, he wasn’t.”

“He asked if you were free the same day he was. That’s a pretty good opener to ‘How about we do something?’”

“Then why didn’t he go with that?”

“Because the two of you are like kings of the awkward Olympics?” I suggested.

“What do I do?” he whined, falling into the seat next to Téa. “How do you two get guys?”

“You really want to take advice from me? I can’t hold onto a guy for shit,” I said with a shrug, taking a few fries into my hand and biting them all at once.

“Right, and we’re just going to pretend Kaiba isn’t into you, right?” Téa said and I choked.

“What? Oh, not you, too!”

“Other people have said it?” She looked like she won the lottery at that. “I knew it!”

I rolled my eyes. “Alister assumed. Someone who clearly doesn’t know us, unlike you. And his brothers kind of implied, too.”

“Alister’s brothers?” Téa asked.

“No, Kaiba’s.”

“You met Kaiba’s _brothers_?” Yugi asked. “Damn, maybe he does have a thing for you,” he giggled.

“Hey, you don’t get to talk until you and Atem actually have a real conversation, alright?”

“Well, we did say that if Atem and I ever went out, you’d end up straddling Kaiba.” Téa chuckled in disbelief and I threw fries at Yugi.

“You said that because you thought they were just as likely, but Atem and you going out actually is likely.”

“Maybe you straddling Kaiba isn’t as unlikely as you think, then,” Yugi countered.

“I don’t know, he seems like a control freak. Probably is in bed, too,” Téa said, still giggling.

“I hate you two. We’re not friends anymore.”

“Bull,” Téa said, checking her phone that started buzzing. “Rebecca’s calling for an emergency study session.”

“Wait! Neither of you actually helped me,” Yugi said with a pout.

I racked my brain and sighed. “There’s one thing I know of, but you might not want to do it.”

“What is it?”

“It’s this little gimmick I learned from Mai a while back. It’s called the Bend and Snap.”

“The what?”

“Oh! One of my sorority sisters taught me that!” Téa said with a nod.

“You were in a sorority?” I asked.

“Story for another day.”

I shrugged and looked back at Yugi. “It’s a little embarrassing if you don’t do it right, so just…do it right. What you do is, you drop something and then you pick it up. Seductively.”

“…How the heck does one pick something up _seductively_?” Yugi asked and Téa gently nudged him out of the booth.

“Like this,” she said, taking the pen off his apron and dropping it on the floor. “You bend,” she said, bending in a way that put her butt on display, “and snap,” she continued, snapping herself up to put out her chest, fluttering her eyelashes at the invisible man she seemed to be seducing.

“Really?” Yugi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“What? It works,” Téa answered, sitting down.

“Yeah, maybe when a girl does it,” Yugi tried, looking over at Joey.

“Nah, it’s helped me a couple times. Back in my youth, I never really paid for drinks.”

“You say that like we’re old,” Téa said with a giggle, going back to her fries.

“The way we’re worked to the bone, we might as well be.”

“Focus. How does a man ever do that without looking ridiculous?”

I rolled my eyes and took the pen from Téa. I repeated the bend and snap, with a little more subtlety than she did. “It’s not that hard, Yug,” I insisted.

“Ooh, nice bend, Joey,” Téa said with a little clap as I sat back down and winked at her.

Yugi was silent for a minute, sighing. “You’re sure this works?”

“Absolutely.”

“Of course.”

“Try it out, Yugi. See if you get the hang of it.” Téa pulled the pen from his apron and handed it to him.

He sighed softly and dropped it. He did his bend and snap, arching his back a little too much at the end.

“A little more bend, a little less snap.”

“It’s hopeless,” he groaned.

“It’s not hopeless,” Téa insisted. “Try again.”

Yugi took a deep breath before nodding to himself. He did a bend and snap, almost perfectly, and Téa and I looked at each other, smiling.

“What? Was that good?” Yugi asked, biting his lip.

“Oh my god, the Bend and Snap!” Marik called, finally noticing us from the counter. “Works every time.” He sent us a wink and then went back to refilling the cup in his hand.

“So, I did good?” Yugi asked again and we nodded.

“Yes, you did very good,” I replied.

“Now, just do that next time Atem comes by and you’ll be set.” Téa put her share of the food bill on the table with mine and nodded. “Trial’s going to start soon, so if we don’t come eat here for a bit, that’s why. Text us anytime.”

“Bye, Yug’ and good luck,” I added, waving goodbye to Marik on the way out.

I glanced over at Téa as we got to her car and wondered if I should bring up the conversation from before or not. After we got in and she started up the car, she was silent for a minute before entering some rant about the workload in Hawkins’ class and how she couldn’t even complain because she didn’t want Rebecca getting mad at her about it.

When she finished, I reached over and squeezed her shoulder, hoping she got my silent message. _‘I love you. I’m here for you. No matter what.’_

She looked over at me and gave me a warm smile, her blue eyes shining with gratitude, so I think she might have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here was the Bend & Snap, including some serious bonding with my little trio. Soon, I'll have Serenity, Tristan, and Ryou come visit but I was hoping to finish the proposal one shot before doing that. Hopefully that'll be done soon, too. This month had me so scatterbrained so I'm going to do my best to get back on track on the days I still have free.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Thank you all for the patience and the incredible amount of kudos! I cannot believe there’s over 100. I’m so grateful to all of you, and those who bookmark and those who comment! You’re very encouraging and it means a lot to a writer who isn’t always able to write when she wants and has more ideas than her fingers can type in a night. I’m glad you still like this, here’s part 19. I tried to make it long and interesting to make up for the wait and I think it is (it’s 4,000 words and 10 pages!)

**Joey's POV** :

“Okay, Pegasus said that this case will definitely be on the test, so we’ll divide up the work. I’ll take the facts, Joey can take the closing arguments, and Téa and Duke can summarize the witness statements,” Rebecca said, already grabbing a highlighter from the bed.

We’d been at this group study for hours now, but getting to the last few bits of the study sheet Rebecca had made up. I was on the floor, laying on my stomach in her and Téa’s dorm, while the couple was seated next to each other on Téa’s bed. The two desks in the room were currently ignored, filled with empty takeout containers and soda cans instead of their usual books.

“Does anyone else find it unfair that he works us to the bone and still makes us take his tests? We’re drowning here,” Duke whined, jotting down notes in the margin of his book.

“There’s got to be a way to do all of this, every other group of interns has,” Téa said, though her positive attitude seemed strained.

“His other interns didn’t have a case like this,” I mumbled, pulling the cap from my pen off with my teeth.

“If you just told the alibi,” Duke started, stopping in his tracks when I glared at him. “Never mind. No alibi. Got it.”

There was the sound of pens and highlighters against paper for a few minutes before a knock came at the door.

“Maybe Mahad decided to join after all?” Duke suggested as Téa got up to answer it. She looked through the peephole and sighed.

“Not Mahad,” she grumbled, pulling the door open. “Hello, Kaiba. What can we do for you?”

I looked up in surprise, pen cap still hanging out of my mouth like a cigarette. Kaiba looked around the dorm at us, raising his eyebrow at me.

“Wheeler. We have work to do.”

I scrunched up my eyebrows, taking the cap out of my mouth. I was ready to retort, but to my surprise, Rebecca did first.

“Why? We need him.”

“Yeah, we’re studying,” Duke added.

“I don’t care. Let’s go.”

“Excuse you, Kaiba, but it is almost nine o’clock at night. You _cannot_ just show up at my dorm and demand Joey come with you. We are still students and we have things to do other than be at the beck and call of you and/or Pegasus at every moment of every day,” Téa ranted, crossing her arms.

Kaiba looked from Téa back to me, who was looking back and forth between him and her. I knew she could be tough, but I didn’t expect her to practically yell at Kaiba in the middle of a doorway.

“Gardner, I am your boss, and –”

“We’re not on the clock right now, Kaiba. If you’d like to speak to Joey out in the hall, maybe you could try asking like a normal human being.”

They glared at each other for a few minutes and I wondered whose eyes were a deeper shade of blue for a second until Kaiba spoke up again, not looking away from Téa still. “Wheeler, can I see you in the hall?” Though it sounded a bit like a command still, at least it was technically a question.

But, I’m a little shit, so that wasn’t enough for me. “What’s the magic word?”

He turned from Téa back to me, glaring harder. “Now.”

I rolled my eyes, pushing myself off the ground. “Actually, it was _please_ , but you still have that ever-present stick up your ass, so I’ll accept your substitution.” I dusted off my jeans and moved out to the hallway, Téa sending me a look that simultaneously portrayed concern and intrigue as she shut the door. “So, what work could we possibly have to do right now?”

“I’ve looked into it and one of the other places Valon works for is the country club Magnum’s daughter frequents.”

I blinked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. “… _and_?”

“We need to go and see if there’s any proof of them meeting up there.”

“Why do _we_ need to do it? Can’t you go alone?”

“Pegasus doesn’t want me to.” He gritted his teeth at that; obviously, it was a sore spot.

I sighed. “Well, Pegasus is also giving a test early in the morning, before we have to go to court, and we’re trying to study. I can’t exactly fail out of law school here.”

“I’d mistakenly thought your priority was getting your friend cleared of murder charges. My mistake.”

He began to walk away and I groaned, reaching out to grab his arm to stop him. He raised his eyebrow expectantly at me and I let go. “Don’t do that. That is such a jerky, manipulative move.” Clearly, he knew I’d rather fail and get Mai declared innocent than pass with her in jail.

He looked from me to the door and back. “How many more cases do you need to study?”

“I think three…”

“What if I went over them with you when we got back?”

I raised my eyebrow. “You’d really do that? That’s actually really nice of you, didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Offer expires in thirty seconds.”

“Okay, okay.” I laughed a bit, nodding. “I’ll get my stuff.”

I opened the door, catching bits of a hushed conversation that ended abruptly when I walked in. _“I think there’s something happ—” “It’s none of our business.”_ Both Duke and Téa seemed quite angry, but her eyes softened when she looked at me.

“You’re going?” he asked pointedly.

I nodded, sighing. “We need something on Valon. He thinks he’s got it.” I grabbed my books, looking around for my bag.

“Don’t stay out too late. A good night’s sleep is essential for test taking,” Rebecca advised, leaning over to pull my bag from the chair at her desk.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, taking it from her. “I’m sorry I’m leaving you.”

“Don’t worry about it, we’ve got it. You will study, too, right, Joey?” Téa asked.

“Yeah, I’ll read in the car,” I covered, not wanting to tell them that Kaiba offered to help. I looked at Duke, who was still seething. I didn’t have time to figure out why, so I said a quick goodnight. I didn’t know if Kaiba’s countdown was still going.

“I’m ready,” I told him as I left the dorm. “How’d you even know I was here?”

He didn’t answer as we walked to the elevator. Because that wasn’t creepy at all.

-

If I’d been thinking about it, I’d have found it odd how easily Kaiba seemed to know how to get to the country club. As it was, I spent the car ride decently distracted. The rich jerks of my life were constantly confusing me and making my life more difficult than it had to be, starting with exhibit A sitting right next to me and exhibit B back on campus. (Exhibit C was Pegasus, but he was an old rich jerk. That excluded him from my thoughts, for now.)

Duke had looked way too bothered about me leaving with Kaiba, which didn’t make any sense because they could very easily still study without him. In fact, he didn’t know how much longer he’d want to even stay in the dorm with them – a good night’s sleep sounded pretty good. But then my thoughts swam back to that night at the party and I felt guilty for still not telling Téa about it at all.

Then there was Kaiba, who half the time acted like a coldhearted, smug bastard which was infuriating ( _and infuriatingly attractive_ ) and the other half was this cool guy who ate homemade pizza with his little brothers and made jokes and is nice ( _also attractive_ )? Nope. Could not compute. Unable to form a connection between the two Kaibas ( _except attractiveness…shut up, brain_ ). Maybe one was an evil clone he sent off to work and to give students really insulting pep talks.

“Quit staring, Wheeler.”

I blinked my thoughts away, looking away from his profile to the road. “Wasn’t staring,” I mumbled.

“You’ve been quiet.”

I laughed, looking back at him. “Want me to talk? Because I can be loud and obnoxious, if it makes you feel better.”

He rolled his eyes. “No. I like it when you’re quiet, but quiet and staring at me is creepy.”

“Right, and knowing which friend’s dorm I was in, and not telling me how when I ask – that’s not creepy.”

“So, you’re admitting you were staring,” he said with a damn smirk.

“And you’re admitting you’re a stalker.”

“You’re an idiot. I went to your dorm first. Your roommate told me where to find you.”

I looked away in slight embarrassment. It was a very obvious answer, and yet I hadn’t thought about it. “Oh.” I watched the dark outline of the trees as we passed them. “And I wasn’t staring.”

“Then what were you doing?”

“Just thinking.”

There was silence for a moment before, “About what?”

I chuckled. “You care?” He didn’t budge, saying anything or making any expression to give away his thoughts. “Or you actually do want me to talk. I think I’m growing on you, Kaiba, no matter what you say.”

“You’re obnoxious, and avoiding the question.”

I was, actually, trying to avoid the question but… “Thinking about tomorrow. What’s court like?”

“A bunch of hungry sharks sniffing out the blood in the water.”

I waited for him to elaborate, sighing when he didn’t. “Thanks, that was super helpful.”

He was silent again for a moment. “We’re going to win.”

“Heh?”

“You’re worried about Mai. I get it, I guess. I mean, I think she’s annoying as hell, but you care about her. So, I’m telling you that we’re going to win.”

See? There he goes again, showing this side of him that may be a real person with feelings. Before I could respond, he pulled up to a large gate and I realized we were there. I was about to ask how we were supposed to get in when he reached into his coat pocket, pulling out his wallet. He slipped a card out and rolled down his window, reaching over to slide the card into a slot, taking it out when the red light on the slot turned green. Next thing I knew, the big iron gates were opening in front of us.

“Wait, Kaiba, do you like… _go here_?”

“Nothing gets past you, does it?” he asked sarcastically, slipping the card back and driving through the gates.

“You really are a rich prick, eh?”

“Watch it.”

“Who else goes to a _country club_?”

“Not that it’s your business, but my family has a lifetime membership. I don’t use it; I just can, if I wanted to.” I didn’t say anything as he pulled up to a huge building, getting out and handing his keys to a valet. “I shouldn’t be long,” he said, and I quickly grabbed my bag to follow him out.

When we entered the lobby of the building, I noticed grand doors on almost every end, a glimpse of what looked like a restaurant behind one open set. Beautiful chandeliers lined the ceiling and there was an elevator with gold doors on one end. Looking around at the people in their fancy dress, I felt significantly out of place. I hadn’t even thought to ask Kaiba if I could change out of my jeans and t-shirt before we left campus.

Kaiba, on the other hand, walked straight through the lobby to the desk like he belonged. No, he did belong – he walked like he owned the freaking place. I tried not to let my awe and awkwardness show as I followed him, wondering how he was going to go about this. I had no knowledge of how anything worked in a place like this.

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat, getting the attention of the girl behind the desk. She looked about our age, maybe more towards his age, and smiled warmly when she saw him. “Mr. Kaiba, I haven’t seen you around in a while. Are you here for—”

“No,” he cut in before she had a chance to finish. “I’m actually here to see if you could do me a favor.”

He leaned in closer to her and she leaned in, interested. “I could certainly try. We at the Golden Oaks pride ourselves in customer service.”

He smirked a bit and I couldn’t help but think he looked like he was flirting. Maybe he was trying to, and I didn’t want to think I had any feelings about that except that I was starting to feel out of place. He definitely didn’t need me here for this. “I’m working on a case and one of the workers here is involved. I need to know if he and a certain member have had any contact.”

She tilted her head. “Mr. Kaiba, before you go any further, I’m sure you know I can’t break member confidentiality.”

“I’m not asking you to break anything, of course. I know how important discretion is here.” He leaned in closer. “Just maybe…accidentally give access to security cameras. In the pool area, specifically.” He winked and I wanted to gag.

She smiled and looked down, shaking her head. “I can’t do that, but I can tell you that interpersonal relations between members and staff is strictly prohibited.” She looked up at him. “And I should also tell you that the next time you try to charm your way into breaking the rules, you might want to pick a girl who’s into guys.” She winked back as the phone rang, picking it up. “Golden Oaks Country Club, how can I help you?”

He turned from the desk in frustration. His eyes scanned the but mine stayed on him. I couldn’t believe it. That was it?

 He froze for a minute and turned his back to the doors, starting to walk towards the exit.

I didn’t follow. “Are you _kidding_ me, Kaiba?” I growled. “You interrupted my study session for _nothing_? I thought you at least had a plan.”

“Shut it, Wheeler. Don’t make a scene, just come on.”

I scoffed. “No, I don’t have to blindly listen to you. I don’t know what you think but you’re actually not in charge of me and—”

“ _Shut up_ ,” he reiterated, grabbing my wrist and starting to pull me away until…

“Seto?”

“Fuck,” I heard him mumble under his breath. He let go of my arm like it burned and turned around. I followed suit, furrowing my eyebrows at the large figure. He sized up both me and Kaiba (me with a lot more disgust) and I tried to put together where I’d known him from.

“Gozaburo,” Kaiba spat out and it hit me. Gozaburo _Kaiba_.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. Are you here to see me?” He seemed way too giddy at that idea and not in the good way. He reminded me of a snake that just found a lost mouse.

“Not in the slightest. We were just leaving.”

“We.” Gozaburo seemed to be tossing the word around in his head. “So, I guess my old suspicions were true about you after all.” He shook his head, making a face as he looked between me and Kaiba. “You could at least not parade around your low-class dates among my people.”

I went to go defend myself, though for the insult or the insinuation by yet another person that Kaiba and I were dating, I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t get a chance.

“As usual, you have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.” Kaiba was still the epitome of control and confidence. Two things I knew I’d probably never have if my father was looking at me the way his stepfather was.

Over what, I wondered. Being gay, or would that be fine if I was a socialite? I was briefly reminded of the look Duke’s parents used to give me.

“We’ll be going now,” Kaiba declared. “Wouldn’t want anyone to think you’ve gotten your kids back in your life.” He turned around and this time, I willingly followed his example.

“I guess it’s true, Seto,” Gozaburo said as we walked. “You can take the boy from the slum but not the slum from the boy.”

If his stepfather’s words bothered him in the slightest, you couldn’t see it in Kaiba’s demeanor. We walked back out in silence; the only time he spoke was to tell the valet which car to pull around.

-

I’d almost forgotten about the test and Kaiba’s promise to help me study until we got back to campus and he parked in the lot behind my dorm building instead of dropping me off in front. We walked in silence to my dorm, a very awkward silence. He was still bothered about not getting anywhere with the country club (or about his stepfather?) and I was too exhausted to be angry anymore.

I also had a lot of questions, but every time I went to bring any of them up in the car, his white knuckles on the steering wheel kept me from doing so. When we got into the dorm and I noticed my roommate was gone again, I sighed, plopping my bag onto my bed. I watched him awkwardly move some books aside to place his briefcase on the desk.

 “You don’t actually have to help me study, I think I can handle it on my own.”

“I told you I would, didn’t I? Don’t be stupid and refuse my help.”

“I’m not trying to be stupid—”

“Succeeding though.”

“—I’m just _trying_ to be considerate. That was intense back there, Kaiba.”

“We just didn’t get what we needed. We’ll work around it.”

“I’m not talking about the case, and you know it.” My voice was beginning to get louder. “You once told me not to talk out of my ass about what a great life you had and I’d like to understand. If you don’t want to talk about your stepfather, that’s fine, but you don’t have to take it out on me. I’m not a fucking punching bag for you to take your stress out on. So, if you’re going to be your typical douchecanoe butthead self, I don’t need your help.”

We stared at each other for a minute before I sighed in frustration, sitting on the bed.

“Which cases do you still need to go over?”

“The Mapplethorpe Case,” I started.

“You don’t need that one.”

“What?”

“You don’t need it.”

“How do you even know?”

He rolled his eyes. “Are you sure you’re not trying to be stupid? Use your head, Wheeler.”

I thought for a minute. _Duh_. He was the teaching assistant. “You’ve seen the test.”

“No shit.”

“What else is on it?”

“I’m not telling you that.”

I stood up. “Oh, _come on_.”

He scoffed. “Wheeler, I am not helping you cheat.”

“You just told me I didn’t need a case!”

“Because it’s late and I have court in the morning. I don’t want to be here all night reviewing cases that won’t even help you on your exam.”

I sighed, before catching sight of the briefcase again. “Do you have them with you?”

“No.”

I smirked. “I don’t believe you.”

“ _Wheeler_.” We stared at each other again before I made a dash for the briefcase. Unfortunately, he saw it coming and before I knew what hit me, my wrists were being held by his hands. “You know I could report you for cheating.”

“The teaching assistant giving me hints in my bedroom at almost midnight would probably get in trouble in that scenario, too,” I answered, realizing after the words left my mouth just how _bad_ of a scenario it sounded.

He looked down at me – those damn few centimeters difference in height – and I took his momentary distraction to get the upper hand. Literally. I used his grip on my wrists to push him down on the bed. I didn’t think far enough in advance to realize I’d be pulled on top of him, though.

I maneuvered it so that I had him pinned down, legs on either side of his waist, and wriggled my hands free to pin his down. “Ha!” I declared, sticking my tongue out at him.

He rolled his eyes, and a moment later our positions were switched. Next thing I knew, I was underneath him, his breath practically on my face. I tried to wrestle myself free, I had barely even registered him flipping us, never mind pinning my arms down. “You are stronger than you look, Rich Boy,” I said, a little out of breath. He was; one hand was holding down both of mine while the other held him up so he wasn’t flush against me.

He didn’t let up and it hit me the other ways this position could be used. I could feel the heat rising to my face and hoped it wasn’t visible.

“Wheeler.” His voice came out almost like a warning, but he still didn’t move.

“So, uh…” I didn’t know why I was talking. I knew I’d say something stupid. But Kaiba was on top of me, those ridiculously blue eyes looking into mine and his face so close and I could feel something stir in my stomach and I knew that if I didn’t talk I’d do something that would be even stupider. “Should we talk about why everyone seems to think we’re…” Dating? Fucking? “Something?”

That must have snapped him out of it, because the iron grip on my wrists loosened. “The essay is on the Bull-Dog Sauce Case,” he said as he got up, grabbing his briefcase.

I blinked for a few seconds and sat up. “Guess you don’t feel like talking,” I mumbled, rubbing my wrists.

“Because you want to talk about a topic not worth discussing.”

“I think it _is_ worth discussing, actually.”

“Why?”

“Because people think—”

“If you’re still worried about what people think, Wheeler, clearly my talk last month didn’t do enough.”

“Oh, bullshit,” I snapped. “Don’t act like you don’t care what people think, either, Kaiba.”

“Worrying about other people’s opinions is a waste of time.”

“So, you’re saying you don’t care what Pegasus thinks of you?”

“That’s different. That has to do with my—”

“With your career? Well, newsflash, this is my career, too, and I’m going to give a shit if my fellow interns think I’m screwing my way to the top. If my client or witnesses or my boss’s own _family_ all seem to think it.”

He turned back to me, glaring. “Look, Mutt, I don’t know why anyone would think we’re anything more than coworkers but clearly, they’re wrong. That would never happen in a million years, so how about instead of worrying that other people think you’ve gotten where you are for the wrong reasons, how about you prove you’re not by doing your part to win this case for us? If anyone is stupid enough to think I’d actually want to screw you, never mind screw you _and_ let it influence your standing, they have their own issues.”

Ouch. Okay, that hurt a little. Not even just the words – he said them with such venom. As if doing anything with me would disgust him that much.

“Whatever. Just go. Be sure to tell your brothers about what issues they have.” He and I glared at each other a moment longer before he took his steps to leave. I watched him get to the door, throwing it open. “For Mai’s sake, I hope you’re a better lawyer than you are a liar!” I called as he shut it.

Just when I thought maybe I could actually like the guy. I laid back down, digging my phone out of my pocket, typing a text to Yugi. “Straddled Kaiba. Now talk to Atem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh. That was so intense to write! I stayed up so late to write that final scene. I knew I wanted something to happen between these two but of course, Kaiba can’t help but be a jerk, especially when he’s already in a bad mood. Next chapter is the start of trial, which is going to be interesting since the dynamic duo isn’t going to be meshing like they’d started to. And of course, I brought back one of the characters I hate, Gozaburo! Please let me know what you think.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd planned on waiting until I finished chapter 21 before I uploaded this but I foresee a very busy week so I decided to just do this now so you don't have to wait too long. Also, I switched around POVs for this chapter because I know a few of you wanted more of the cute Puzzleshipping moments, so I wanted to give you a little bit at the end. The first part in Joey’s POV was a lot longer than I expected it to be before I wrote it but hey…you guys like longer chapters, right?

**Joey's POV:**

Evidently, sending that message right before I went to sleep was a very bad idea. I woke up a little too early in the morning to incessant buzzing from my phone and groaned. My eyes adjusted to waking up and focused on the words, and I sighed.

_‘What do you mean you straddled him?’_

_‘Did you two kiss?’_

_‘Did you two more than kiss?’_

_‘Joey, you can’t just leave me hanging like that.’_

_‘Are you together?’_

_‘Are you admitting you like him?’_

_‘Does Téa know?’_

_‘JOEY!’_

Yup. Dumb idea to the extreme. I sent back a quick, one message reply. _‘What I said. No. No. I can keep you hanging if I want. No. I hate him, actually. He’s a dick. Haven’t told her. Talk to you later, got a test and then court.’_

I dropped the phone next to my side and stared at the ceiling, trying to will myself to get ready for the day. I needed to dress in fancypants lawyer clothes because we were leaving for court right after we finished our test. Oh, yeah. Test. I picked up my phone and dialed. “Hey, Téa,” I greeted when she answered. “Don’t ask me how I know, but go over the Bull-Dog Sauce Case. Enough to write an essay. Yeah, tell them if you want.”

I sighed, shaking my head. I hadn’t even gone over the case myself; I’d have to work on it before class. I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed, not even slightly ready to face the day ahead.

* * *

“How do you know this?” Rebecca whispered to me. We were crowded around Téa’s desk, last minute cramming before Pegasus and the rest of the class showed up.

“I just do.”

“Kaiba tell you?” Duke asked, making a face.

“Of course not, he would never do that,” I lied, staring down at my book. I’d sent Téa a _‘Tell you when we’re_ _alone’_ text, but I was more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of Rebecca and Duke knowing.

“Then I don’t get how you could. It makes no sense, unless –”

“I _saw_ it, okay?” I looked up, getting way too frustrated in the line of questioning. “Kaiba left his briefcase in the car and I managed to peek. Couldn’t see the whole thing.”

“So, we’re actually cheating right now?” Téa asked, voice really low. I could tell the thought disturbed her.

“Yes, we are, but if you guys would have rather I didn’t tell you and only I did well on the essay, let me know. Next time, I’ll keep it to myself.”

They were quiet for a minute. “Thank you, Joey. That was risky, but I wouldn’t have even thought about this case too much if you hadn’t,” Rebecca spoke. “But, now I have to go to the bathroom. Don’t want to have to go during the test.”

“Good idea. I’ll come with,” Téa insisted. As we watched them walk off, Duke spoke up. “They always do that. Why do girls always do that? Go to the bathroom in pairs…”

I shrugged in response and we were good for a minute. Quiet. Just looking over our notes. But Duke needs to ruin everything. “So, you and Kaiba aren’t…”

I looked up at him with my biggest _are you kidding me?_ face. “Seriously, what is wrong with you? No, I am doing anything with our teaching assistant and almost boss. Not dating or screwing or whatever word you were going to finish that sentence with.” I huffed. “If I were, it would be absolutely none of your business because if you really think Kaiba would let himself be used and give the person he’s getting with any benefits like answers to tests or internships they don’t deserve, then you are a really shitty judge of character. And another thing – you’re the one who cheated on and dumped me and got engaged to someone who, let’s be real, deserves a hell of a lot better than you. So, if this is coming from some fucked up jealousy point of view, you lost that right, and nothing you can do is going to change that. I could be fucking no one, I could be fucking Kaiba, or I could be fucking everyone in class. It’s not your business, no matter how much you miss me or want me or don’t want to be with Téa. I don’t care and if I didn’t hold out hope that maybe you’d grow a pair and tell her the truth, she’d know what you said to me that night by now.”

I guess I was too wrapped up in my rant to realize that his widening eyes had to do with something besides me, but his mouth was opening and closing like a fish. “What’d he say?” I turned in surprise to see Téa standing behind me. She leaned over my shoulder to grab out a tampon from her bag. “Forgot this. But uh, I think you and I need to talk,” she told Duke, who swallowed and nodded. She motioned for him to follow her as she left and he did, and I very graciously let my head fall flat onto the desk, ignoring the pain it caused.

* * *

The test went better than expected. Rebecca’s study guides and Kaiba’s pointer made things pretty easy. For me, at least. I hoped the others thought so, too.

It was awkward and uncomfortable as hell, though. When the three of them all came back into class right before it started, they reorganized their desks. Téa sat on my right, where I got a good sight of her now bare ring finger. Rebecca was on the other side of me, with Duke all the way on the other end.

At first, I thought Téa would be mad at me, too, but while Pegasus went over the rules of test taking (no talking, no cell phones, no looking at your neighbor’s paper, etc) she reached over and squeezed my hand. I squeezed back and looked at her. “Coffee before court?” she whispered, even though we’d doubled up on espresso shots before class. I agreed anyway.

She finished her test about ten minutes before I did. When I was sure I couldn’t possibly make any more changes to better my responses, I got up and practically slammed the paper on the desk. Kaiba and I glared at each other, though I knew he was part of the reason I even passed. That damn essay was worth fifty percent of the whole test grade.

Téa was waiting outside the classroom when I left and immediately she jumped into my arms. I wrapped them around her waist. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” She pulled away, shaking her head. “I get why you didn’t tell me, you didn’t think it was your place. I probably wouldn’t know what to do, either, in your case.” She sighed. “I knew we were moving too fast when we got engaged. I don’t think I even knew who he was anymore. Or, maybe he’s just always been that way and nostalgia made me forget.” She started walking, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. “Come on, I don’t want to have to deal with him right now. Sitting in silence in court is more than enough.”

I bit my lip, following alongside her. “So, it’s over? You called it off?”

She nodded, fiddling with her finger that the ring used to sit on. “I just have to figure out how to tell my parents. The good news is, I no longer have to plan a wedding. That stuff is miserable. Good luck to your sister. Have you heard anything about that?”

I wasn’t sure if she was genuinely curious or just didn’t want to talk about her and Duke anymore, or both, but I let it slide. “Oh, no, not yet. I don’t know if he’s done it, but I know they wanted to come see me soon. I have a feeling she’d want to tell me in person, so…” I shrugged. I’d actually forgotten in the throes of everything that Tristan was proposing. Clearly, I’m a great brother/best friend.

She smiled a bit. “I’d like to meet her, when they come up. If that’s okay. I don’t have many female friends.”

“I think she’d like that.”

We walked to the parking lot, throwing our bags in the backseat when we got into her car. She put her seatbelt on and peeled out of the lot, looking over at me at the first red light we encountered. She had such a twinkle in her blue eyes that you wouldn’t think she’d just called off her engagement. “Okay, now that we’re away from prying ears, spill. What happened with you and Kaiba?”

* * *

**Yugi's POV:**

I understood that being a law student and intern meant that there was a lot of work to be done. I also understood that as my new best friend, it was incredibly rude of Joey freaking Wheeler to tease me with information about him straddling the guy I knew he had the hots for and not give me all the details.

I was obsessively checking my phone at work, thankful my boss wasn’t in today. Marik never cared if I was on my phone, since he typically was, too, but our boss was a stickler. It didn’t matter that neither of us ever ignored a customer, it was apparently rude to have your phone not on silent during work.

I shook my head, complaining to Marik about guys not answering texts, and he very unhelpfully replied, “Guys always answer my texts.”

Thanks, Marik. That wasn’t even what I meant.

“Speaking of guys,” he said, motioning to the door. Atem was coming in and I instinctively went to go hide. “Oh, no, you awkward little twerp. You are going to face him and get a damn date today. I said it, so it must be true.”

I went to go fight him, but he practically shoved me towards the door. I wiped the horrified look off my face (listen, I wasn’t ready for this. I was going to kill Joey. I was sure this was only happening because he said to.) and smiled. “Hey, Atem. I didn’t expect you back so soon. You just delivered yesterday…”

He shrugged, glancing outside. “Mako and I forgot one box from the warehouse and didn’t realize it. Sorry about that.”

“Oh! You don’t need to be sorry! I didn’t mean it like it was a bad thing that I was seeing you again. It was like, a pleasant surprise. Yeah, that’s the word for it. Pleasant surprise.” Shoot me now.

He smiled and I melted. “I’m glad to hear it. So, I just need you to sign again…” He handed me the machine and that stylus pen.

I suddenly had Joey’s voice in my head. ‘ _Bend and snap, Yugi! Bend. And. Snap._ ’ Was I really going to do this? Was I really going to try? Here was my chance. Hopefully this worked. I let the stylus slip from my fingers _accidentally_ and watched it fall to the ground.

“Oops,” I chuckled awkwardly. “I’ll just…”

Here it goes. The bend…and…

_SNAP._

* * *

“You _broke_ his _nose_?”

I looked at my two law student friends in the screen of my phone. The severe disbelief from Téa, and the concern on her face, made this even worse. Joey’s cackling in the background didn’t help, either.

“Yug’!” he wheezed out. “How the hell did that happen?”

I grimaced, glancing over to the curtain that one of the doctors had taken Atem behind. If I hadn’t been so wrapped up in my own head, in worrying and agonizing over the move potentially not working, I would have registered what he’d said – the point where he evidently said, ‘ _Oh, I’ll get that pen you dropped! Don’t worry about it!_ ’

“I think I did a little too much snap…”

It took another minute and a glare from Téa to finally get Joey to calm down. “Is he alright?” she asked. “Where are you now?”

“Hospital. Marik covered my shift so I could take him. I think he’s going to be alright, but still. I broke his nose, guys. I don’t think I’m very good at this flirting thing. Clearly, I can’t do the bend and snap.”

Joey shook his head. “Guess not. But hey, if he still likes you after this, at least you know it’s real.”

I groaned. That was decidedly not helpful, but I knew he had good intentions. I was about to reply when I saw Atem coming up to me. I yelped at the look of him, otherwise perfect face adorned with a weird cast thing on his nose. His face was cleared of the blood but swollen, and the dried crimson still stained his shirt.

“What? What’s wrong?” Téa asked, reminding me that I was still on FaceTime with them.

“Is that Téa?” Atem asked. How he seemed so unbothered by the fact that he had a broken nose, I didn’t understand. I nodded, still staring at him as I turned the phone so he could wave to the two of them.

Of course, the sight of Atem in his nose cast led Joey into another bout of laughter. I held the phone to my chest to muffle the sound, but to my surprise, Atem himself chuckled, which led a giggle to escape from me. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh…”

“It’s fine. I know, I look quite ridiculous.”

“I am so, so sorry. I really didn’t –” I shook my head, sighing.

“Yugi, it’s alright. Really. I know it was an accident.” He scratched the back of his head. “Though, I do think you should make it up to me.”

I nodded. “I agree. Whatever you need.”

“Friday. Will you go on a date with me?”

I stuttered for a moment; of all the things, I didn’t think that was what he’d ask for. I nodded a bit frantically before I finally found my voice. “Yes, yeah, a date. That’s. Yeah. I’d love to.”

A smile formed on his face – his beautiful, damaged face. “Good. I’ll pick you up at 8.”

“ _Yes!_ ” I heard the hiss and my face heated up. I kept forgetting that we were still on FaceTime. I lifted the phone, smiling awkwardly at the two.

“Well, what d’you know? Apparently breaking a guy’s nose is the key to him finally asking you out.”

“Joey!” I hissed, face reddening further.

“Yeah, who knew?” Téa teased, giggling. “Maybe you should try it with Kaiba.”

She pushed his shoulder and he growled. “I want to break that bastard’s face, but it’s got nothing to do with getting a date out of it.”

“Guys? Uh, I’m going now. Need to get back to work…” They hung up after saying their goodbyes to us and I tucked my phone into my pocket. “Are you sure you don’t want anything else? Ice? Chocolate? Pain meds?” I asked Atem.

He laughed again, shaking his head. “They took care of it. I can barely feel it, it just needs to set back the right way.”

“Positive?”

“I promise, I’m fine. Let’s just get you back to work. Give Marik a good laugh while we’re at it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think. I know I promised court in this chapter but do you blame me? Relationship drama was necessary. Next time, I swear! I already have it planned out in my head, I’m really excited for it.


End file.
